Investor in homeless shelters pays $17.1M to Asher Shafran for LGBTQ homeless site in Belmont

An anonymous investor in homeless shelters, with Yoel Zagelbaum as the signatory, through the entity 480 East 185th Propco LLC paid $17.1 million to Asher Shafran through the entity Phoenix Bronx II LLC for the 103-unit homeless shelter (I9) in Belmont/Little Italy, Bronx and a 1-4 family building (A1).
NBC News reported earlier this year that former residents said the shelter was a “nightmare.” PincusCo is withholding the address for the building since it is a shelter for potentially vulnerable residents.
The buyer signed an acquisition loan with lender Bear Creek Asset Management through the entity Bcth Investors LLC valued at $12 million.
The deal closed on August 23, 2022 and was recorded on September 1, 2022. The two properties have 18,853 square feet of built space and 1,507 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 19,578 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $905 and the price per buildable square foot is $871 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 Asher Shafran was Asher Shafran. The signatory for the buyer was Yoel Zagelbaum.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, Pincusco has records that the buyer with Yoel Zagelbaum as signatory purchased four properties in four transactions for a total of $60.5 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Asher Shafran had not purchased any other properties and sold one properties in one transactions for a total of $20.5 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes David Levitan, head officer and Katie Bower, lessee. The business entities are Project Renewal Inc. and Phoenix Bronx Llc.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 135 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,607 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.9 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $2,220 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 $5 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Belmont/Little Italy, the bulk, or 44 percent of the 14.1 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space. In sales, Belmont/Little Italy has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $162.5 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Belmont/Little Italy has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 742,271 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 26 commercial properties representing 54,950 square feet of the 345,965 square feet. The identified owner is Jordan Wexler.
There are two active new building construction projects totaling 73,685 square feet. The largest is a 88-unit, 38,623-square-foot R-1 building developed by Nehalkumar Gandhi with plans filed June 30, 2016 and permitted August 23, 2018. The second largest is a 88-unit, 35,062-square-foot R-1 building developed by Nehalkumar Gandhi with plans filed June 30, 2016 and permitted August 23, 2018.

The majority, or 28 percent of the 345,965 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that the investor with Yoel Zagelbaum as signatory owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 92,366 square feet and a city-determined market value of $15.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $51.5 million in debt, borrowed from Bear Creek Asset Management and BCTH Investors. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 39 percent of the 92,366 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with hotel properties next occupying 30 percent of the space. The bulk, or 39 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 31 percent of the space.