Kings Capital pays $12.5M to Bank of China for vacant 39-unit rental in Hell’s Kitchen

Kings Capital through the entity 359 West 48th LLC paid $12.5 million to Bank of China for the 39-unit residential elevator building (D3) at 357-365 West 48th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The bank used the building for corporate housing, but it has been vacant since Covid, according to a source. Kings Capital plans to renovate to 39 class A apartments with outdoor space.
The deal closed on June 20, 2024 and was recorded on July 2, 2024. The property has 35,840 square feet of built space and 3,601 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 39,424 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $348 and the price per buildable square foot is $317 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 Bank of China was Wei Hu. The signatory for Kings Capital was Jeffrey Znaty. The contract date was March 22, 2024.
The sale was brokered by a CBRE team led by Daniel Kaplan, according to people familiar with the transaction.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Kings Capital purchased seven properties in six transactions for a total of $25.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Bank of China 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 includes Yifei Cheng, head officer and Wenjin Xu, officer. The business entity is Bank Of China.

The property

The residential elevator building with 39 residential units in Hell’s Kitchen has 35,840 square feet of built space and 3,601 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 39,424 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 64 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,549 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $10.5 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, $1,250 in ECB penalties, and $1,600 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 27 of the 41 commercial properties representing 615,491 square feet of the 745,507 square feet. The largest owner is Xiaoyan Sui, followed by Solomon Borg and then Maddd Equities.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 58,557 square feet. It is a 203-unit, 58,557 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by Slate Property Group and filed by David Schwartz with plans filed May 24, 2017 and permitted January 4, 2018.

The majority, or 36 percent of the 745,507 square feet of built space are hotel buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Bank Of China owned at least one commercial property with 39 residential units in New York City with 35,840 square feet and a city-determined market value of $10.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single elevator property. It is located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Kings Capital owned at least eight commercial properties with 74 residential units in New York City with 59,271 square feet and a city-determined market value of $23.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $45.5 million in debt, borrowed from Webster Bank and Maxim Credit Group. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 80 percent of the 59,271 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 20 percent of the space. The bulk, or 54 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 46 percent of the space.

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