Chaim Hager pays $7.8M to Empire Management for 36-unit rental in Hell’s Kitchen

Chaim Hager through the entity 444 W 48, LLC paid $7.8 million to Empire Management through the entity 48th Street Holding LLC for the 36-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 444 West 48th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan.
The deal closed on April 25, 2023 and was recorded on May 5, 2023. The property has 16,355 square feet of built space and 13,855 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 30,220 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $473 and the price per buildable square foot is $256 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 Empire Management was Fred Ohebshalom, Lisa Ohebshalom, and Daniel Ohebshalom. The signatory for Chaim Hager was Chaim Hager.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Chaim Hager purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $5 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Empire Management had not purchased any other properties and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $5.2 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Ramin Shalom, head officer and Fred Shalom, officer. The business entity is 48th Street Holdings Llc. The 16,355-square-foot property generated revenue of $723,311 or $44 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential elevator building with 36 residential units in Hell’s Kitchen has 16,355 square feet of built space and 13,855 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 30,220 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,020 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 $3.9 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 two housing violations and $230 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 28 commercial properties representing 132,484 square feet of the 327,658 square feet. The largest owner is Scharfman Organization, followed by Rita Chou and then Milton Davis.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 60 percent of the 327,658 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Empire Management owned at least 14 commercial properties with 553 residential units in New York City with 745,599 square feet and a city-determined market value of $159.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $228.9 million in debt, with top three lenders as New York Community Bank, Santander Bank, and Dime Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 72 percent of the 745,599 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with H1 properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Chaim Hager owned at least one commercial property with 11 residential units in New York City with 7,200 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Manhattan.

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