AYA pays $31M to BentallGreenOak for UWS rentals, down from $85M in 2013

AYA Acquisitions through the entity Aya BSD Capital LLC paid $31 million to BentallGreenOak through the entity Thor-GO 120-125 Riverside LLC for the 60-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 125 Riverside Drive in Upper West Side, Manhattan and 33-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 120 Riverside Drive in Upper West Side, Manhattan.
Thor Equities and BentallGreenOak (at the time GreenOak) bought the two adjacent rental buildings for $84.96 million, borrowing $50 million from an affiliate of Blackstone Group at the time. Then in 2017, Thor Equities sold its stake in the property to GreenOak, according to media reports, and is not involved in this transaction. Representatives for BentallGreenOak and Thor Equities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deal closed on January 30, 2024 and was recorded on February 2, 2024. The two properties have 110,238 square feet of built space and 25,285 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 135,490 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $281 and the price per buildable square foot is $228 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 BentallGreenOak was the firm’s managing partner Chris Niehaus. The signatory for AYA Acquisitions was Amir Shriki. The contract date was August 17, 2023.

The AYA website mentions an Upper West Side contract for $40 million in August 2023. It’s unclear if it’s the same sale with a different price, or if the $31 million does not represent the entire amount of the transaction.

To finance the purchase, AYA borrowed $15.9 million from First Horizon Bank.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer AYA Acquisitions purchased four properties in two transactions for a total of $70.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller BentallGreenOak purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $20.4 million and sold five properties in two transactions for a total of $171.3 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Chris Niehaus, head officer and Michael Toral, site manager. The business entities are Pinnacle City Living, Llc and Thor-Go 120-125 Riverside, Llc.

The property

The zoning is R10A which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Riverside-West End Historic District Extension I. The city-designated market value for one of the two properties in 2022 was $11.3 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received three DOB violations, 101 housing violations, one housing violation, and $5,400 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 block

On the tax block of 125 Riverside Drive, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 23 commercial properties representing 206,519 square feet of the 317,035 square feet. The largest owner is Nino Cohen and then Laurence Beam.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 59 percent of the 317,035 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that BentallGreenOak owned at least eight commercial properties with 858 residential units in New York City with 2,260,545 square feet and a city-determined market value of $761.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 56 percent of the 2,260,545 square feet of built space are office properties, with elevator properties next occupying 40 percent of the space. The bulk, or 96 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 4 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Aya Acquisitions owned at least four commercial properties with 131 residential units in New York City with 162,842 square feet and a city-determined market value of $27 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $13.5 million in debt, borrowed from Patriot Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 83 percent of the 162,842 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

Direct link to Acris document. link