Davis Companies signs $33.4M construction loan with First-Citizens for dev site in East Harlem

Davis Companies through the entity Harlem Multi One, LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company through the entity First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company valued at $33.4 million for the development building (V1) at 1975 Madison Avenue in East Harlem, Manhattan.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 93-unit, 107,735 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Robert Kaliner of Round Square Development with plans filed December 20, 2019 and permitted April 29, 2022.
The deal closed on November 17, 2023 and was recorded on December 21, 2023.
The owner bought the property on July 21, 2023, for $12 million. The signatory for Davis Companies was Jonathan G. Davis.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 77 feet and is 145 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,168 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7-2 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $323,000. The most recent loan totaled $11.9 million and was provided by Eloise 1975 Madiosn Credi Spv, LLC on November 30, 2020.

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 $2,250 in ECB penalties and $2,650 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In East Harlem, The majority, or 51 percent of the 52.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, East Harlem has 2.1 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $711.6 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 20th highest in Manhattan. For development, East Harlem has 1.9 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 16th highest in Manhattan. It had 1.9 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 17 of the 40 commercial properties representing 103,315 square feet of the 238,702 square feet. The largest owner is West Harlem Group Assistance, followed by Steven Barshov and then Sophie Emery.
On the tax block, there were five new building construction projects totaling 371,442 square feet. The largest is a 152-unit, 122,872 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Artimus and filed by Robert Ezrapour with plans filed June 21, 2019 and permitted April 1, 2022. The second largest is a 93-unit, 107,735 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Robert Kaliner with plans filed December 20, 2019 and permitted April 29, 2022.

The majority, or 50 percent of the 238,702 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 48 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Davis Companies owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 183,612 square feet and a city-determined market value of $11.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $117.7 million in debt, borrowed from Santander Bank and City National Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 83 percent of the 183,612 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with F9 properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. The bulk, or 83 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 17 percent of the space.

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