Avi Ben Hamo pays $3M for mixed-use in Crown Heights

Avi Ben Hamo through the entity 731 Washington LLC paid $3 million to Albert Appleton through the entity 731 Washington Realty LLC for the five-unit mixed-use building (S5) at 731 Washington Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on November 28, 2023 and was recorded on December 6, 2023. The property has 5,510 square feet of built space and 2,922 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 8,430 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $544 and the price per buildable square foot is $355 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Albert Appleton was Albert Appleton. The signatory for Avi Ben Hamo was Avraham Ben Hamo. The contract date was September 21, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Avi Ben Hamo purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $1.6 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Albert Appleton had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Albert Appleton, individual owner and Deshauna Appleton, site manager.

The property

The mixed-use building with 5 residential units in Crown Heights has 5,510 square feet of built space and 2,922 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 8,430 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 27 feet and is 104 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,810 square feet. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.2 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation, three housing violations, and $150 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Crown Heights, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 46.5 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space. In sales, Crown Heights has 1.6 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $553.7 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 13th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Crown Heights has 2.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 6th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 12 commercial properties representing 136,871 square feet of the 186,132 square feet. The largest owner is Shel Capital, followed by Marcelino Lake and then Hirshmark Capital.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 3,018 square feet. It is a two-unit, 3,018 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Michael Berlianshik with plans filed January 31, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 57 percent of the 186,132 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Avi Ben Hamo owned at least one commercial property with nine residential units in New York City with 4,866 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Brooklyn.

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