Chaskel Landau pays $9.3M to Caspi for ground lease controlling 22-unit rental in Greenpoint

Chaskel Landau through the entity 144 West LLC paid $9.3 million to Caspi Development through the entity Fhrb LLC for the 22-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 144 West Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Landau bought the ground lease position. The fee is owned by Point Equities Realty.
The deal closed on May 14, 2024 and was recorded on June 6, 2024. The property has 24,015 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $387 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 Caspi Development was Joshua Caspi. The signatory for Chaskel Landau was Chaskel Landau. This is a ground lease assignment with the original lease signed July 30, 2015.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Chaskel Landau purchased three properties in three transactions for a total of $30.6 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Caspi Development had not purchased any other properties and sold two properties in two transactions for a total of $36.9 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Joshua Caspi, head officer and John Silviano, officer. The business entity is Fhrb Llc.

The property

The residential elevator building with 22 residential units in Greenpoint has 24,015 square feet of built space 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 4,999 square feet. The zoning is M1-2/R6A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 3 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.2 million. The most recent loan totaled $9.3 million and was provided by Berkshire Group on December 18, 2019.

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 $300 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on August 4, 2021. 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 eight of the 13 commercial properties representing 65,464 square feet of the 86,105 square feet. The largest owner is Olga Melnyk, followed by Mohsen Zandieh and then Michael Fortunato.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 55 percent of the 86,105 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Caspi Development owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 108,426 square feet and a city-determined market value of $31.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $116.6 million in debt, borrowed from Hana Financial Investment and Strategic Funding. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 75 percent of the 108,426 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with office properties next occupying 25 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Chaskel Landau owned at least 26 commercial properties with 140 residential units in New York City with 155,600 square feet and a city-determined market value of $30.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $59.9 million in debt, with top three lenders as S3 Capital, Broadview Capital, and Golden Bridge Funding respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 53 percent of the 155,600 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 24 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

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