Joshua Greenberg pays $15.5M in Williamsburg, adds to holdings on block

UPDATED, 12:35 p.m., December 17, 2024: Joshua Greenberg through the entity 554 Metro Spe LLC paid $15.5 million to Jackie Wells, Adelino R. Franquinha, Amanda Maria-Franquinha Velazquez, and Joseph Franquinha through the entity Arf Metro, LLC for the mixed-use building (K2) at 558 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and six-unit residential walkup building (C4) at 554 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on November 20, 2024 and was recorded on December 16, 2024. The two properties have 12,846 square feet of built space and 20,070 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 32,900 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,206 and the price per buildable square foot is $471 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 Jackie Wells, Adelino R. Franquinha, Amanda Maria-Franquinha Velazquez, and Joseph Franquinha was Jackie Wells, Adelino R. Franquinha, Amanda Maria-Franquinha Velazquez, and Joseph Franquinha. The signatory for Joshua Greenberg was Joshua Greenberg. The contract date was July 3, 2024.

Joshua Greenberg bought 546 Metropolitan Avenue for $3 million and 536 Metropolitan Avenue for $3.5 million from Jackie Wells, Adelino R. Franquinha, Amanda Maria-Franquinha Velazquez, and Joseph Franquinha.

TerraCRG’s Dan Marks, Daniel Lebor, and Andrew Manasia brokered the sale. According to the marketing material, “the properties have a base Zoning Floor Area (ZFA) of 72,864 square feet, with the potential to increase to 97,152 square feet through the inclusionary housing bonus FAR,” which would yield an all-in price per foot of $226 per foot for the $22 million package.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Joshua Greenberg had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Jackie Wells had not purchased any other properties and sold two properties in two transactions for a total of $6.5 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Jackie Wells, head officer and Adelino Franquinha, officer. The business entity is Crest-Metro Corp.

The property

The residential walkup building with 6 residential units in Williamsburg has 12,846 square feet of built space and 20,070 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 32,900 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 24 feet and is 114 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,736 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. 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 properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have not received any significant violations 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 the tax block of 554 Metropolitan Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 27 commercial properties representing 74,655 square feet of the 164,182 square feet. The largest owner is Rama P. Mukhopadhyay, followed by Maria Dente and then Marek A. Kluska.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 8,697 square feet. It is a 13-unit, 8,697 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Yisroel Greenfeld with plans filed June 15, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 47 percent of the 164,182 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Jackie Wells owned at least one commercial property with six residential units in New York City with 4,866 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Brooklyn.

Clarification: Updated with broker information and overall buildable square foot totals supplied by the brokers.

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