Lubavitch yeshiva pays $8.5M for 18-unit apartment in Crown Heights

The Chabad-Lubavitch affiliated boys school Educational Institute Oholei Torah of Brooklyn through the entity 1327 President Street LLC paid $8.5 million to the estate of Myrtle Whitmore for the 18-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 1327 President Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The expected use is owner occupied.
The deal closed on May 12, 2025 and was recorded on May 16, 2025. The property has 23,580 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $360 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 Myrtle Whitmore was Renita Gayle Simril and Delores Cooks. The signatory for Educational Institute Oholei Torah of Brooklyn was Shmuel Brook. The contract date was February 4, 2025. Myrtle Whitmore, a former commissioner of New York City Housing Authority,  and her husband bought the building in March 1967. Educational Institute Oholei Torah of Brooklyn, a private Jewish school, is a larger Lubavitch school. The main office for the school, at 667 Eastern Parkway, is two blocks north.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Educational Institute Oholei Torah of Brooklyn had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Myrtle Whitmore 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 Myrtle Whitmore, head officer and Eukline Larrier, site manager. The 23,580-square-foot property generated revenue of $498,010 or $21 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential elevator building with 18 residential units in Crown Heights has 23,580 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 80 feet and is 115 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,246 square feet. The zoning is R2 which allows for up to 0.5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. 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 property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $330 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 two of the two commercial properties representing 56,208 square feet of the 56,208 square feet. The two identified owners are Moshe Drizin and Quentin Whitmore.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 58 percent of the 56,208 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 42 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Educational Institute Oholei Torah Of Brooklyn owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 28,220 square feet and a city-determined market value of $3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single specialty property. It is located in Brooklyn.

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