Joseph Friedman pays $7M for two walkups in Bronx

Joseph Friedman paid $7 million to Neil Tepper for two residential walkups in the Bronx in two separate transactions.

In the first, Joseph Friedman through the entity 59wa LLC paid $4 million to Neil Tepper through the entity Mount Hope Residence LLC for the 54-unit residential walkup building (C5) at 14 Mt Hope Place in Mt Hope, Bronx.
The deal closed on October 31, 2023 and was recorded on November 3, 2023. The property has 16,685 square feet of built space and 20,934 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 37,618 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $239 and the price per buildable square foot is $106 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 Neil Tepper was Neil Tepper. The signatory for Joseph Friedman was Joseph Friedman. The contract date was June 16, 2023.

In the second, Joseph Friedman through the entity 59wa LLC paid $3 million to Neil Tepper through the entity 897 Crotona Park Inc. for the 11-unit residential walkup building (C1) at 897 Crotona Park North in East Morrisania, Bronx. The deal closed on October 31, 2023 and was recorded on November 3, 2023. The property has 13,495 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $222 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 July 27, 2022, for $449,520. The signatory for Neil Tepper was Neil Tepper. The signatory for Joseph Friedman was Joseph Friedman. The contract date was June 16, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Joseph Friedman had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Neil Tepper had not purchased any other properties and sold one properties in one transactions for a total of $3.6 million over the same time period. The former owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Jacob Tepper, head officer. The business entity is Mount Hope Residence Llc.

The property

The residential walkup building with 54 residential units in Mt Hope has 16,685 square feet of built space and 20,934 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 37,618 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 125 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,249 square feet. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.8 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 one DOB violation and $13,540 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 three of the six commercial properties representing 259,490 square feet of the 347,633 square feet. The largest owner is Solomon Kafif, followed by NYC Department Of Education and then Neighborhood Restore Housing Development Fund Corporation.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 149,784 square feet. It is a 164-unit, 149,784 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Sam Kafif with plans filed June 22, 2017 and permitted June 25, 2019.

The majority, or 71 percent of the 347,633 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Joseph Friedman owned at least eight commercial properties with 391 residential units in New York City with 360,916 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $5.3 million in debt, borrowed from Peapack-Gladstone Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 79 percent of the 360,916 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 21 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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