Ken Huang pays $5M to Top Rock Holdings for office in Pelham Bay

Ken Huang through the entity Ewkh Realty Management LLC paid $5 million to Top Rock Holdings through the entity 1468 Williamsbridge Road Partners LLC for the office building (O7) at 3251 Westchester Avenue in Pelham Bay, Bronx.
The deal closed on June 6, 2024 and was recorded on June 21, 2024. The property has 8,638 square feet of built space and 37,993 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 46,677 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $578 and the price per buildable square foot is $107 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 December 20, 2021, for $4 million. The signatory for Top Rock Holdings was Uri Mermelstein. The signatory for Ken Huang was Ken Huang. The contract date was February 9, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Ken Huang purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $53 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Top Rock Holdings purchased 10 properties in five transactions for a total of $123.8 million and sold four properties in four transactions for a total of $26.3 million over the same time period. The 8,638-square-foot property generated revenue of $242,210 or $28 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The office building in Pelham Bay has 8,638 square feet of built space and 37,993 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 46,677 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 145 feet and is 93 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,569 square feet. The zoning is R7-1 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.2 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 $300 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 52,467 square-foot B building. The project was submitted by Top Rock Holdings and filed by Moshik Regev with plans filed April 25, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Pelham Bay, The bulk, or 27 percent of the 6.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Pelham Bay has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $73.2 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Pelham Bay has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 194,203 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other office buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the eight commercial properties representing 8,638 square feet of the 111,300 square feet. The identified owner is Top Rock Holdings.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 52,467 square feet. It is a 52,467 square-foot business (B) building submitted by Top Rock Holdings and filed by Moshik Regev with plans filed April 25, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 78 percent of the 111,300 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Top Rock Holdings owned at least 10 commercial properties with nine residential units in New York City with 161,200 square feet and a city-determined market value of $43.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $8.3 million in debt, borrowed from Lightstone Group. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 44 percent of the 161,200 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with M1 properties next occupying 42 percent of the space. The bulk, or 89 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 6 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ken Huang owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 189,250 square feet and a city-determined market value of $34.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $92.5 million in debt, borrowed from Popular Bank and Maxim Capital Group. The portfolio consists of at least a single hotel property. It is located in Queens.

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