Lalezarian Properties signs $55M construction loan for 70-unit project in Yorkville

Lalezarian Properties through the entity E83 Properties LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender JPMorgan Chase valued at $55 million for the 12-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 300 East 83rd Street in Yorkville, Manhattan.
The deal closed on June 10, 2022 and was recorded on June 30, 2022. The prior lender was JPMorgan Chase which held debt that had an original loan amount of $5 million.

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 70-unit, 112,602-square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Erik Lalezarian with plans filed October 1, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.
The owner bought one of the pieces of the development site on October 22, 2009, for $5.3 million. The signatory for Lalezarian Properties was Kevin Lalezarian. The signatory for JPMorgan Chase was Nicholas Capowski.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Eric Kalimian, head officer and Syne Kanacevic, officer. The business entity is Elk 300 East 83 Llc. The 9,940-square-foot property generated revenue of $523,172 or $53 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 300 East 83rd Street parcel has frontage of 28 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,100 square feet. The zoning is C1-9 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.9 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation, $23,500 in ECB penalties, and $3,600 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Yorkville, the majority, or 71 percent of the 43.2 million square feet of commercial built space are residential elevator buildings, with residential walkup buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space. In sales, Yorkville has 1.4 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $398.1 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 23rd highest in Manhattan. For development, Yorkville has 1.7 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 13th highest in Manhattan. It had 1.5 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 18 of the 33 commercial properties representing 253,541 square feet of the 361,629 square feet. The largest owner is City of New York, followed by S.W. Management and then GPG Properties. There are two active new building construction projects totaling 142,948 square feet. The largest is a 70-unit, 112,602-square-foot R-2 building developed by Erik Lalezarian with plans filed October 1, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.The second largest is a 21-unit, 30,346-square-foot R-2 building developed by Sergey Rybak with plans filed August 27, 2018 and permitted November 3, 2020.

The majority, or 53 percent of the 448,016 square feet of built space are residential walkup buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lalezarian Properties owned at least 10 commercial properties with 753,369 square feet and a city-determined market value of $232.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $427.9 million in debt, with top three lenders as JPMorgan Chase, New York Community Bank, and Wells Fargo respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 93 percent of the 753,369 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 6 percent of the space. The bulk, or 57 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 43 percent of the space.

Surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 300 East 83rd Street, Pincusco identified 11 commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those 11 items, one was in new building development. It was a new building permit issued on November 3, 2020 for a 30,346-square-foot R-2 building with 21 residential units at 333 E82nd St.
Of those 11 items, two were for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. They were one permit applications with a total initial cost of $350,000 and one initial temporary certificate of occupancy issuance for a project that initially costed $1.6 million. The most recent of these two items was the filing on December 30, 2021 for a 8,614-square-foot RES building with 17 residential units at 336 East 82nd Street.
Of those 11 items, four were sales above $5 million totaling $38.1 million. The most recent of the four was Mordehy “Moti” Haber and Dore Friedman which bought the 9,880-square-foot, 20-unit rental (C1) on 319 East 83rd Street for $6 million from J. Stuart Lemle, Russell Lemle, and L. Craig Lemle on February 23, 2022.
Of those 11 items, four were loans above $5 million totaling $52.2 million. The most recent of the four was L3C Capital Partners which borrowed $8 million from Signature Bank secured by the 16,840-square-foot, 20-unit rental (C1) on 324 East 84th Street on April 20, 2022.

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