Developer signs contract to buy Garment District parcels where it plans $213.9M condo project

The CEO of a construction-technology company through the entity VDX 351 W37th LLC signed a contract as buyer with George Makkos through the entity M & T Pretzel Inc. as seller for the development site at 349 West 37th Street composed of a commercial building and an adjacent parking lot in the Garment District, Manhattan. The transaction was disclosed in a memorandum of contract published in city records last week. The memorandum did not disclose the sale price or closing date.

While there are no active new building construction projects on these tax lots, there is a proposed condo project. The plan was filed by Shahn Andersen’s VDX 351 W37TH LLC to create 115 residential units and one commercial units in a new building planned for 353 West 37th Street called 353 West 37th Street Condominium that has a $213.9 million sellout, according to an February 6, 2025 submission to the New York State Attorney General. The principal of the sponsor, VDX 351 W37TH LLC, was Shahn Andersen.
The sale contract was signed on October 28, 2024 and the memorandum of contract was recorded on March 21, 2025. The two properties have 26,350 square feet of built space and 72,376 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 98,740 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data.
The signatory for George Makkos was George Makkos. The signatory for the buyer was Shahn Andersen, the CEO of Vandrax Technologies. The contract date was October 28, 2024. Shahn Andersen declined to comment.

The property

The industrial building in Garment District has 26,350 square feet of built space and 72,376 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 98,740 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 98 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,937 square feet. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.1 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $2,500 in ECB penalties and $18,500 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Garment District, The majority, or 69 percent of the 52.3 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space. In sales, Garment District has 4.1 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1.1 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 8th highest in Manhattan. For development, Garment District is the 5th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 8.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 17 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 349 West 37th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 21 commercial properties representing 935,388 square feet of the 1,698,259 square feet. The largest owner is Glenwood Management, followed by Barings and then Elk Investors.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 50 percent of the 1.7 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with office buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that George Makkos owned at least four commercial properties with 17 residential units in New York City with 40,820 square feet and a city-determined market value of $27.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $45.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as T30 Capital, Preferred Bank, and Dime Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 67 percent of the 40,820 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with office properties next occupying 33 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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