Mohamed Hamza pays $3.6M to Simkho Aranbayev for 8-unit walkup in Longwood

Mohamed Hamza through the entity 995 Westchester LLC paid $3.6 million to Simkho Aranbayev through the entity 995 Wstr LLC for the eight-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 995 Westchester Avenue in Longwood, Bronx. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on September 12, 2024 and was recorded on October 25, 2024. The property has 14,000 square feet of built space and 2,002 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 16,020 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $260 and the price per buildable square foot is $227 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 August 18, 2022, for $3.4 million. The signatory for Simkho Aranbayev was Peter Young, an attorney with Ginsburg & Misk. The signatory for Mohamed Hamza was Mohamed Hamza. The contract date was January 29, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Mohamed Hamza purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $1.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Simkho Aranbayev purchased seven properties in seven transactions for a total of $35 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $2.8 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Simkho Aranbayev, head officer and Albert Aranbayev, agent. The business entity is 995 Wstr Llc. The 14,000-square-foot property generated revenue of $329,519 or $24 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential walkup building with eight residential units in Longwood has 14,000 square feet of built space and 2,002 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 16,020 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 55 feet and is 52 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,657 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7-1 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 $1.5 million. The property has eight rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023. There is a discrepancy between the Department of City planning which gives seven residential units, and tax records which show eight rent-regulated building.

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 $975 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 10 commercial properties representing 14,000 square feet of the 77,505 square feet. The two identified owners are Simkho Aranbayev and Chaim Wiesenfeld.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 33,628 square feet. It is a 24-unit, 33,628 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Roussos Tony with plans filed August 14, 2017 and permitted June 7, 2023.

The majority, or 42 percent of the 77,505 square feet of built space are retail buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 36 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Simkho Aranbayev owned at least 30 commercial properties with 30 residential units in New York City with 211,064 square feet and a city-determined market value of $44.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $27.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, Provident Bank, and Union Savings Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 60 percent of the 211,064 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 34 percent of the space. The bulk, or 39 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 34 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Mohamed Hamza owned at least one commercial property with two residential units in New York City with 5,960 square feet and a city-determined market value of $969,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single retail property. It is located in Bronx.

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