Metropolitan Realty pays $64M to Jonathan Rose for 10 rentals in Harlem, gets $64.7M loan

The Great Neck-based Metropolitan Realty Group through the entity West 135th Apts Owner LLC paid $64 million to Jonathan Rose Companies through the entity West 135th Apartments, LLC for 10 rental buildings in Harlem including the 22-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 131 West 135th Street, the 22-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 123 West 135th Street, and the 18-unit residential elevator building (D3) at 107 West 135th Street. The expected use is cash flowing.
The purchase was financed with a $64.7 million Greystone & Co. originated and then assigned to Fannie Mae.
The deal closed on September 6, 2024 and was recorded on September 12, 2024. The 10 properties have 164,460 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $389 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 Jonathan Rose Companies was Nathan Taft. The signatory for Metropolitan Realty Group was Scott Jaffee. The contract date was January 2, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Metropolitan Realty Group had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Jonathan Rose Companies had not purchased any other properties and sold one properties in one transaction for a total of $13.9 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Michael Arman, head officer and Luisa Rijo, agent. The business entities are Rose Community Management Llc and West 135th Apartments Llc.

The property

The residential walkup building with 22 residential units in Harlem has 164,460 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 40 feet and is 99 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,996 square feet. The zoning is R7-2 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.2 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received 44 housing violations, $23,010 in OATH penalties, and one housing litigation 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 the tax block of 131 West 135th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 25 commercial properties representing 165,584 square feet of the 270,936 square feet. The largest owner is Jonathan Rose Companies, followed by Roc Capital and then Haussmann Development.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 22,968 square feet. It is a 26-unit, 22,968 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Steven Neuman with plans filed October 23, 2017 and permitted April 15, 2022.

The majority, or 65 percent of the 270,936 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Jonathan Rose Companies owned at least 14 commercial properties with 840 residential units in New York City with 868,495 square feet and a city-determined market value of $126.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $239.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Athene Holding, Hunt Real Estate Capital, and Merchants Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 81 percent of the 868,495 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 15 percent of the space. The bulk, or 41 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 23 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Metropolitan Realty Group owned at least 44 commercial properties with 2,635 residential units in New York City with 2,488,578 square feet and a city-determined market value of $432.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $307.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Lument, Signature Bank, and Greystone & Co. respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 91 percent of the 2,488,578 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 9 percent of the space. The bulk, or 65 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 23 percent of the space.

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