Bayrock Capital pays $19.9M to Himmel + Meringoff for office in Lenox Hill

Bayrock Capital through the entity BR First Partners LLC paid $19.9 million to Himmel + Meringoff Properties through the entity First/Broadway Acquisition LLC for the office building (O6) at 1114 First Avenue in Lenox Hill, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on August 27, 2024 and was recorded on September 6, 2024. The property has 41,300 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $482 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 Himmel + Meringoff Properties was Stephen J. Meringoff and Leslie W. Himmel. The signatory for Bayrock Capital was Daniel Rabinowitz. The contract date was May 28, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Bayrock Capital purchased 10 properties in nine transactions for a total of $253.1 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Himmel + Meringoff Properties had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The office building in Lenox Hill has 41,300 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 95 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,750 square feet. The zoning is C8-4 which allows for up to 5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $10.7 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 not received any significant violations 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 Lenox Hill, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 53.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 30 percent of the space. In sales, Lenox Hill has the highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $4.2 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Lenox Hill is the 6th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 6.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 11 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other office buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the seven commercial properties representing 260,739 square feet of the 488,665 square feet. The two identified owners are Storagemart and Sol Goldman Investments.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 49 percent of the 488,665 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Himmel + Meringoff Properties owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 654,029 square feet and a city-determined market value of $140.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $251.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as Aareal Capital, Signature Bank, and TriState Capital Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 70 percent of the 654,029 square feet of built space are office properties, with industrial properties next occupying 30 percent of the space. The bulk, or 70 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 30 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Bayrock Capital owned at least 19 commercial properties with 135 residential units in New York City with 508,124 square feet and a city-determined market value of $125.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $305.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Broadview Capital, Popular Bank, and M&T Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 80 percent of the 508,124 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with walkup properties next occupying 12 percent of the space. The bulk, or 90 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Bronx next at 5 percent of the space.

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