Benchmark Real Estate pays $66M to Heller Realty for 125-unit UWS rental

Benchmark Real Estate Group through the entity Benchmark 250 LLC paid $66 million to Heller Realty through the entity 85 D Realty LLC for the 125-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 250 West 85th Street in Upper West Side, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on August 26, 2025 and was recorded on September 9, 2025. The property has 111,811 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $590 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 Heller Realty was Robert Ross . The signatory for Benchmark Real Estate Group was Jordan Vogel . The contract date was August 7, 2025. The Heller family, through Joseph and Fanny Heller, has had an ownership stake in the property since at least 1966.

Crain’s New York reported on the sale previously.

The sale was brokered by Rosewood Realty Group’s Aaron Jungreis, Ben Khakshoor and Alex Fuchs.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Benchmark Real Estate Group purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $43 million and sold three properties in three transactions for a total of $64.5 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Heller Realty 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 Michael Felice, head officer and Kevin Padgett, officer. The business entity is 85 D Realty Llc. The 111,811-square-foot property generated revenue of $5.1 million or $45 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential elevator building with 125 residential units in Upper West Side has 111,811 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 102 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,975 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-6A which allows for up to 3.4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Riverside-West End Historic District Extension I. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $28.1 million. New York Community Bank on May 15, 2020 bought a loan with an original principal of from signed by Robert Ross, secured by 250 West 85th Street, when owned by Heller Realty. The property has 34 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2022.

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 $1,700 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 10 of the 12 commercial properties representing 320,459 square feet of the 477,624 square feet. The largest owner is Naftali Group, followed by Heller Realty and then Brusco Group.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 262,874 square feet. The largest is a 45-unit, 154,598 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Naftali Group and filed by Michael Witek with plans filed May 12, 2022 and permitted December 28, 2023. The second largest is a 162-unit, 108,276 square-foot institutional (I-2) building submitted by Hines and filed by Sarah Hawkins with plans filed April 22, 2019 and permitted January 15, 2021.

The majority, or 75 percent of the 477,624 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 Heller Realty owned at least eight commercial properties with 385 residential units in New York City with 364,357 square feet and a city-determined market value of $73.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $14.7 million in debt, borrowed from Santander Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 91 percent of the 364,357 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 9 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Benchmark Real Estate Group owned at least 10 commercial properties with 333 residential units in New York City with 250,210 square feet and a city-determined market value of $93.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $123.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, Starwood Property Trust, and Metropolitan Commercial Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 77 percent of the 250,210 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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