Better Living Properties pays $3.4M to nonprofit for 15-unit walkup in Gramercy

Better Living Properties through the entity 323 East 14th LLC paid $3.4 million to the nonprofit HIAS Inc. through the entity East 14th Property LLC for the 15-unit residential walkup building (C5) at 323 East 14th Street in Gramercy, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on March 25, 2026 and was recorded on April 20, 2026. The property has 8,110 square feet of built space and 1,431 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 9,544 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $413 and the price per buildable square foot is $351 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 HIAS Inc. was Beth Oppenheim . The signatory for Better Living Properties was Jonathan Soudry . The contract date was January 26, 2026.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Better Living Properties had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller HIAS Inc. 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 Ryan Villarruel, head officer and William Saez, site manager. The business entity is East 14th Property Llc. The 8,110-square-foot property generated revenue of $542,790 or $67 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential walkup building with 15 residential units in Gramercy has 8,110 square feet of built space and 1,431 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 9,544 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 23 feet and is 103 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,386 square feet. The zoning is C1-6A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 4 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.3 million. The property has 15 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2024.

Transaction Participants

Mitchell Shpeilfogel at Pinczewski & Shpelfogel, P.C. participated in the transaction on behalf of the buyer.

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 $50 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 12 of the 31 commercial properties representing 277,212 square feet of the 428,234 square feet. The largest owner is The New School, followed by John Ilibassi and then Nyc Department Of Education.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 37 percent of the 428,234 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Better Living Properties owned at least 32 commercial properties with 211 residential units in New York City with 144,171 square feet and a city-determined market value of $81.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $148 million in debt, borrowed from Citibank and Dime Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 64 percent of the 144,171 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 32 percent of the space. The bulk, or 83 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 16 percent of the space.

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