Carthage Advisors signs $100M refi loan with Dwight Capital for two properties in Harlem
Carthage Advisors through the entity Carthage 124th LP as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Dwight Capital through the entity Dbf Spe III LLC valued at $100 million for two properties with 168 residential units including the 168-unit residential elevator building (D3) at 224 West 124th Street in Harlem, Manhattan and development lot (V1) at 234 West 124th Street in Harlem, Manhattan.
The deal closed on November 3, 2023 and was recorded on November 6, 2023. The prior lender was Bank Leumi which held debt that had an original loan amount of $79 million.
The two properties have 165,607 square feet of built space and 100,166 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 211,428 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $603 and the price per buildable square foot is $472 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 Carthage Advisors was Edward Poteat. The signatory for Dwight Capital was Adam Sasouness.
Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 224 West 124th Street.
The property
The parcel has frontage of 183 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 18,482 square feet. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $13.9 million. The most recent loan totaled $79 million and was provided by Bank Leumi on January 26, 2021.
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 $2,500 in ECB penalties, three housing violations, and $54,275 in OATH penalties in the last year.
Development
For the tax lot buildings, one out of the two buildings received a initial certificate of occupancy in the last ten years.
The block
On the tax block of 224 West 124th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 10 commercial properties representing 308,395 square feet of the 427,381 square feet. The largest owner is Carthage Real Estate Advisors and then Boulka Trust.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 849,164 square feet. The largest is a 183-unit, 424,236 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Moses Strulowitz with plans filed July 2, 2018 and permitted August 14, 2020. The second largest is a 149-unit, 414,957 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Carthage Real Estate Advisors and filed by Ed Poteat with plans filed July 2, 2018 and permitted August 14, 2020.
The majority, or 92 percent of the 427,381 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Carthage Advisors owned at least three commercial properties. The portfolio has $97.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as NYC Housing Development Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners, and The New York City Acquisition Fund respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 98 percent of the 132,843 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 2 percent of the space. The bulk, or 98 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 2 percent of the space.
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