Iyad Hamsho pays $12.7M to Veracity Equities for 15-unit walkup in Little Italy

Iyad Hamsho through the entity 146 Mulberry Owner, LLC paid $12.7 million to Veracity Equities through the entity 146 Mulberry Street, LLC for the 15-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 146 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
Veracity Equities has been under pressure from five pre-foreclosure actions filed in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The deal closed on October 10, 2024 and was recorded on October 16, 2024. The property has 12,425 square feet of built space and 9,072 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 21,503 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,018 and the price per buildable square foot is $588 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 October 23, 2015, for $13.2 million. The signatory for Veracity Equities was Edmond Li. The signatory for Iyad Hamsho was Iyad Hamsho. The contract date was December 28, 2023.

Crain’s reported on the sale, identifying Iyad Hamsho as a local restaurateur.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Iyad Hamsho had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Veracity Equities had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development include Edmond Li, head officer and Jennifer Li, officer. The business entities are Veracity Real Estate Management Inc. and 146 Mulberry Street, Llc.

The property

The residential walkup building with 15 residential units in Little Italy has 12,425 square feet of built space and 9,072 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 21,503 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 36 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,572 square feet. The lot is irregular. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.1 million.

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 five housing violations and $50 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 seven of the 23 commercial properties representing 78,194 square feet of the 270,583 square feet. The largest owner is Building Equity Management, followed by Iyad Hamsho and then Black Spruce Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 76 percent of the 270,583 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with office buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Veracity Equities owned at least two commercial properties with 50 residential units in New York City with 25,501 square feet and a city-determined market value of $8.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $21.7 million in debt, borrowed from Shelter Growth Capital Partners. Within the portfolio, all identified are walkup properties. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Iyad Hamsho owned at least one commercial property with 15 residential units in New York City with 12,425 square feet and a city-determined market value of $4.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $8.7 million in debt, borrowed from Series 2017-H1. The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Manhattan.

Direct link to Acris document. link