Empire, Gatsby, Keystone sign $15M refi with Derby Copeland for 88-unit rental in Lincoln Square

The Ohebshalom family companies Empire Management, Gatsby Enterprises, and Keystone Management through the entity 72nd Street Holding LLC (and others) as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Derby Copeland Capital through the entity CF Dcope Fin LLC valued at $15 million for the 88-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 244 West 72nd Street in Lincoln Square, Manhattan.
The deal closed on July 26, 2024 and was recorded on August 5, 2024. The prior lender was Fannie Mae which held debt that had an original loan amount of $13.5 million. The property has 87,150 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $172 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 owner bought the property on April 30, 2013, for $1.8 million. The signatory for Empire Management, Gatsby Enterprises, and Keystone Management was Fred Ohebshalom, Lisa Ohebshalom, Daniel Ohebshalom, and Amy Knell. The signatory for Derby Copeland Capital was Jesse Hutcher.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Ramin Shalom, head officer and Fred Ohebshalom, officer. The business entity is Shalco Properties, Llc.

The property

The residential elevator building with 88 residential units in Lincoln Square has 87,150 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 60 feet and is 102 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,129 square feet. The zoning is C4-6A which allows for up to 3.4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $17 million.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $13.5 million commercial foreclosure concerning a loan filed on May 30, 2024, by Fannie Mae against Empire Management and Fred Ohebshalom. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received two DOB violations, $1,250 in ECB penalties, 35 housing violations, and $2,250 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 nine of the 23 commercial properties representing 180,675 square feet of the 397,218 square feet. The largest owner is Brusco Group, followed by Dominique Olbert and then Fine Times.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 35,764 square feet. The largest is a 19-unit, 30,504 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by SK Development and filed by Scott Shnay with plans filed December 7, 2017 and permitted August 6, 2019. The second largest is a two-unit, 5,260 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Mary Margaret Chan with plans filed November 19, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 64 percent of the 397,218 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Gatsby Enterprises owned at least 39 commercial properties with 1,083 residential units in New York City with 750,705 square feet and a city-determined market value of $241 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $170.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as Capital One, Dime Community Bank, and First Republic Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 48 percent of the 750,705 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 44 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Empire Management owned at least 24 commercial properties with 1,019 residential units in New York City with 1,216,233 square feet and a city-determined market value of $239 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $301.1 million in debt, with top three lenders as Barclays, Santander Bank, and New York Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 82 percent of the 1,216,233 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with H1 properties next occupying 11 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Keystone Management owned at least three commercial properties with 14 residential units in New York City with 29,820 square feet and a city-determined market value of $9.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $10 million in debt, borrowed from Flushing Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 67 percent of the 29,820 square feet of built space are retail properties, with walkup properties next occupying 33 percent of the space. The bulk, or 67 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 33 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link