Centaur Properties signs $13.5M refi loan with Cross River Bank for retail in Chelsea

Centaur Properties through the entity 16th And 8th LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Cross River Bank valued at $13.5 million for the retail condo at 127 8th Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan.
The deal closed on December 9, 2022 and was recorded on December 21, 2022. The prior lender was BankUnited which held debt that had an original loan amount of $17.3 million.The property has 20,415 square feet of built space according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $661 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 Centaur Properties was Henry Hay. The signatory for Cross River Bank was Shimon Eisikowicz. The debt has been reduced from $20 million provided in 2014.

The property

The 127 8th Avenue parcel has a total lot size of 20,415 square feet. The property has a 421a exemption that started in 2012 and expires in 2022. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $13 million.The most recent loan totaled $17.3 million and was provided by BankUnited on February 10, 2021.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. 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 $5 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Chelsea, the bulk, or 36 percent of the 52.6 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Chelsea has the 3rd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $2.6 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Chelsea has 2 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 13th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 10 of the 16 commercial properties representing 300,954 square feet of the 454,190 square feet. The largest owner is Katara Hospitality, followed by Centaur Properties and then William Gottlieb Real Estate.
there are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 44 percent of the 250,291 square feet of built space are hotel buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Centaur Properties owned at least nine commercial properties in New York City with 293,622 square feet and a city-determined market value of $111.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $54.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Sterling National Bank, BankUnited, and Webster Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 74 percent of the 293,622 square feet of built space are office properties, with walkup properties next occupying 19 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

Direct link to Acris document. link