Chess Builders pays $50M to Extell Development for dev site in Yorkville

Chess Builders through the entity East 86 Realty LLC paid $50 million to Extell Development through the entity 355 East 86th Street Lp for the 33-unit residential elevator building (D7) at 355 East 86th Street in Yorkville, Manhattan. The expected use is ground up development.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, M01142990, for a 99-unit, 101,102 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Chess Builders and filed by Cheskel Schwimmer with plans filed November 21, 2024 and it has not been permitted yet.
The deal closed on February 28, 2025 and was recorded on March 6, 2025. The property has 36,237 square feet of built space and 85,744 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 121,970 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,379 and the price per buildable square foot is $409 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 seller bought the property on December 21, 2020, for $14.5 million. The signatory for Extell Development was Marc Kwestel . The signatory for Chess Builders was Moshe Schwimmer . The contract date was September 1, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Chess Builders purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $30 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Extell Development purchased three properties in three transactions for a total of $195.5 million and sold 10 properties in 10 transactions for a total of $471.2 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Trudy Swaby, head officer and Elvin Blanco, site manager. The business entity is 355 East 86th Street Lp.

The property

The residential elevator building with 33 residential units in Yorkville has 36,237 square feet of built space and 85,744 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 121,970 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 121 feet deep with a total lot size of 12,197 square feet. The zoning is C2-8A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $11 million. The most recent loan totaled $11.6 million and was provided by Signature Bank on April 18, 2022. The property has 5 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.

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 $20,950 in ECB penalties and $22,450 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of six of the 17 commercial properties representing 762,596 square feet of the 863,538 square feet. The largest owner is Stellar Management, followed by 355 East 86th Street Lp and then Chris Paravalos.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 198,072 square feet. The largest is a 99-unit, 101,102 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Chess Builders and filed by Cheskel Schwimmer with plans filed November 21, 2024 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 99-unit, 96,970 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Chess Builders and filed by Cheskel Schwimmer with plans filed November 21, 2024 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 87 percent of the 863,538 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 10 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Extell Development owned at least 65 commercial properties with 651 residential units in New York City with 2,801,938 square feet and a city-determined market value of $789.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $7.1 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Guggenheim Partners, Blackstone Group, and JVP Management respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 38 percent of the 2,801,938 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with elevator properties next occupying 20 percent of the space. The bulk, or 96 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 4 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Chess Builders owned at least four commercial properties with 218 residential units in New York City with 120,310 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $263.4 million in debt, with top three lenders as MF1 Capital, S3 Capital, and Parke Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 52 percent of the 120,310 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with office properties next occupying 48 percent of the space. The bulk, or 52 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 48 percent of the space.

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