Lions Group pays $30M to Delshah Capital for 37-unit walkup in West Village via bankruptcy

Lions Group through the entity 100 Christopher LLC paid $30 million to Delshah Capital through the entity 100 Christopher Street Propco LLC for the 37-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 100 Christopher Street in West Village, Manhattan. The sale was managed through an agreed-to bankruptcy.
The deal closed on October 23, 2023 and was recorded on October 30, 2023. The property has 21,849 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,373 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 October 4, 2013, for $26.8 million. The signatory for Delshah Capital was Michael Shah. The signatory for Lions Group was Albert Shirian. The contract date was August 23, 2023. PincusCo reported in September that the property was in contract.

Delshah filed the bankruptcy through the entity 100 Christopher Street Propco LLC, citing an ongoing default on loans (debentures) owed to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange bondholders that mature on September 30, but the sale is not expected to close until October 24.
Without the bankruptcy, the bondholders’ trustee could seize the property if the loans are not repaid by September 30, so the bankruptcy was made in order to block the trustee from taking over the property, so that the sale may proceed and so that all the creditors are paid off, according to the filing.
Lions Group, for its part, had to close by October 24 in order to conform to a 1031 exchange time limit.
The bankruptcy filing stated all creditors would be paid off through the sale.
The property had gross revenue of $1.89 million in 2022 and so far in 2023 it has had gross revenue of $1.66 million, according to the bankruptcy filing. Delshah Capital has a $19.2 million loan with Santander Bank secured by this property. There is no litigation related to the property, according to the filing. Michael Shah is CEO of Delshah Capital, and Patrick McCann, who filed the petition, is CFO.

A Meridian Capital Group team led by David Schechtman marketed the property and will be paid a commission, according to the bankruptcy filing.

Prior sales and revenue

The seller Delshah Capital purchased two properties in two transactions for a total of $74.5 million and sold 37 properties in 10 transactions for a total of $70.3 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Michael Shah, head officer and Patrick Legall, site manager. The business entities are Delshah 100 Christopher Llc and Delshah 100 Christopher Llc.

The property

The residential walkup building with 37 residential units in West Village has 21,849 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 69 feet and is 82 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,270 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The property is in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $10.5 million.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was involved in zero lawsuits and one bankruptcy over the past two years. The bankruptcy was filed on September 27, 2023, by Delshah Capital, Michael Shah, and Patrick McCann citing assets of $30 million. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received three DOB violations, $7,500 in ECB penalties, and $7,680 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 17 of the 39 commercial properties representing 216,277 square feet of the 344,326 square feet. The largest owner is Sol Goldman Investments, followed by S.W. Management and then Ralph Della Cava Jr..
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 54 percent of the 344,326 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Delshah Capital owned at least 42 commercial properties with 809 residential units in New York City with 903,315 square feet and a city-determined market value of $198.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $572.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Arbor Realty Trust, Apollo Global Management, and Signature Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 48 percent of the 903,315 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 34 percent of the space. The bulk, or 51 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 49 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lions Group owned at least 11 commercial properties with 295 residential units in New York City with 353,409 square feet and a city-determined market value of $90.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $195.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as Greystone & Co., Bank Leumi, and Popular Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 89 percent of the 353,409 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 6 percent of the space. The bulk, or 83 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 15 percent of the space.

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