Ben Asher, Farzad Asher pay $3.5M for 19-unit walkup in Chinatown

Ben Asher and Farzad Asher through the entity Tbf Group Bayard LLC paid $3.5 million to Leslie Leong through the entity 104 Bayard St. Corp. for the 19-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 104 Bayard Street in Chinatown, Manhattan.
The deal closed on April 10, 2024 and was recorded on May 2, 2024. The property has 9,250 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $378 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 Leslie Leong was Leslie Leong. The signatory for Ben Asher and Farzad Asher was Ben Asher and Farzad Asher. The contract date was April 4, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Ben Asher had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Leslie Leong 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 Leslie Leong, head officer and Roland Leong, officer. The business entity is 104 Bayard Street Corp.

The property

The residential walkup building with 19 residential units in Chinatown has 9,250 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,499 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C6-1 which allows for up to 6 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 3.44 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.6 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 $1,200 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 26 commercial properties representing 75,047 square feet of the 261,091 square feet. The largest owner is Zhi Li Pan, followed by Tak Law and then Arbor Management Acquisition Company Aka Amac Holdings.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 69 percent of the 261,091 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Farzad Asher owned at least two commercial properties with two residential units in New York City with 7,691 square feet and a city-determined market value of $888,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 77 percent of the 7,691 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with retail properties next occupying 23 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ben Asher owned at least one commercial property with 24 residential units in New York City with 9,475 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $5 million in debt, borrowed from Dime Community Bank. The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Manhattan.

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