Marc Blumenfrucht’s Iris Holdings pays LeFrak $71.5M for 4 Flushing rentals it built in 1960s

Marc Blumenfrucht’s Iris Holdings Group paid $71.5 million to LeFrak for four elevator buildings the firm developed in the early 1960s in Flushing, Queens. The buildings are 137-20 45th Avenue, 45-15 Colden Street, 44-15 Colden Street and 44-35 Colden Street.

LeFrak is one of the largest multifamily owners in New York City, having built much of its own portfolio including LeFrak City. The PincusCo database currently indicates that LeFrak owned at least 64 commercial properties with 10,110 residential units in New York City with 11,289,224 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.6 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 90 percent of the 11,289,224 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with office properties next occupying 9 percent of the space. The bulk, or 62 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 31 percent of the space.

Multi-Housing News reported the $75 million acquisition loan National Equity Fund provided, but not the sale price, on June 26, the day after the closing.

LeFrak occasionally sells properties, for instance the last package of buildings it sold was for $250 million, in Gravesend, Brooklyn, to A&E Real Estate Holdings.

In the largest of the four buildings just sold, Iris Holdings Group through the entity Flushing Preservation LP paid $21.1 million to LeFrak through the entity Auburn Leasing Limited Liability Company for the 149-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 137-20 45th Avenue in Flushing, Queens.
The deal closed on June 25, 2024 and was recorded on July 3, 2024. The property has 190,510 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $110 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.)

In the second, Iris Holdings Group through the entity Flushing Preservation LP paid $20.9 million to LeFrak through the entity Tulane Realty Limited Partnership for the 148-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 45-15 Colden Street in Flushing, Queens. The deal closed on June 25, 2024 and was recorded on July 3, 2024. The property has 131,187 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $159 per the PincusCo analysis.

In the third, Iris Holdings Group through the entity Flushing Preservation LP paid $19.5 million to LeFrak through the entity Notre Dame Leasing Limited Liability Company for the 138-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 44-15 Colden Street in Flushing, Queens. The deal closed on June 25, 2024 and was recorded on July 3, 2024. The property has 130,818 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $149 per the PincusCo analysis.

In the fourth, Iris Holdings Group through the entity Flushing Preservation LP paid $10 million to LeFrak through the entity Bucknell Realty Limited Partnership for the 71-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 44-35 Colden Street in Flushing, Queens. The deal closed on June 25, 2024 and was recorded on July 3, 2024. The property has 65,338 square feet of built space and 9,843 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 75,250 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $153 and the price per buildable square foot is $133 per the PincusCo analysis.

The signatory for LeFrak was Arnold S. Lehman. The signatory for Iris Holdings Group was Marc Blumenfrucht. The contract date was June 25, 2024.

LeFrak bought at least one of the parcels on October 25, 1961 and in June 22, 1962, it borrowed $1.29 million from Chemical Bank New York Trust Company.

Marc Blumenfrucht‘s Iris Holdings Group is an affiliate of Black Iris Capital, and has been quietly amassing a large portfolio of rent-regulated buildings, often with Article XI agreements with the city to maintain affordability and reduce city property taxes. One of the early acquisitions was in 2018, a $68 million purchase from Maimonides Medical Center. Morningstar analyzed Iris Holdings Group’s business plan in order to rate the loan for the Maimonides portfolio.

Iris Holdings Group assets include 100 Belmont Place and 101 Daniel Low Terrace in St. George, Staten Island; the former Maimonides Medical Center portfolio including 864 49th Street, 983 and 1005 46th Street, 5001 10th Avenue in Borough Park, Brooklyn; and 193 Jefferson Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, part of a portfolio Iris Holdings bought in 2017 for $12.5 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 93 housing violations and two housing litigations 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 three of the three commercial properties representing 583,616 square feet of the 583,616 square feet. The two identified owners are Lefrak and Cammeby’s International Group.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

All properties are elevator.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Iris Holdings Group owned at least 16 commercial properties with 542 residential units in New York City with 468,129 square feet and a city-determined market value of $36.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $144.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as MF1 Capital, National Equity Fund, and KeyBank respectively. Within the portfolio, all identified are walkup properties. The bulk, or 88 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 12 percent of the space.

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