Naftali pays $810M to Spitzer, Winter Properties for future dev site in Lenox Hill
800 Fifth Avenue (Credit - Google)
Naftali Group through the entity 800 Fifth Ave Property Owner LLC paid $810 million to Spitzer Enterprises and Winter Properties through the entity 800 Fifth Avenue Associates LLC for the 208-unit residential elevator building (D8) at 800 5th Avenue in Lenox Hill, Manhattan. The expected use is ground up development.
The New York Post and others have reported that the building will be demolished and a new construction condominium building will be built.
The deal closed on August 14, 2025 and was recorded on August 20, 2025. The property has 355,978 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $2,275 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 Spitzer Enterprises and Winter Properties was Eliot L. Spitzer and Benjamin J. Winter. The signatory for Naftali Group was Michael Naftali. The contract date was August 14, 2025. The Commercial Observer reported in March 2023 that Naftali Group was in contract to buy the property. Bloomberg reported in January 2025 that Spitzer was looking for $1 billion to sell it.
To finance the purchase, Naftali Group obtained a $477.9 million senior acquisition loan with JPMorgan Chase, which was recorded in city records.
• Naftali Group signs $67.5M construction loan for mixed-use in Kips Bay (February 26, 2025)
• Naftali signs $140M construction loan for 62-unit condo project in Lenox Hill (November 29, 2024)
• Naftali files condo plans for 218-unit Williamsburg waterfront project (November 04, 2024)
• Azora Exan pays $8.57M to Naftali Group for retail condo in Yorkville (July 17, 2024)
• Naftali Group signs $177.5M construction loan for 45-unit UWS condo (March 18, 2024)
Prior sales and revenue
Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Naftali Group purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $12.5 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $8.6 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Spitzer Enterprises 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 Eliot Spitzer, head officer and Benjamin Winter, officer. The business entities are Rose Property Mgmt Grp Llc and 615 Building Company Llc. The 355,978-square-foot property generated revenue of $35.1 million or $99 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
The property
The residential elevator building with 208 residential units in Lenox Hill has 355,978 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 125 feet and is 250 feet deep with a total lot size of 28,235 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R10 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Upper East Side Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $186.1 million. The most recent loan totaled $115 million and was provided by First Republic Bank on November 5, 2019.
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 $950 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 six of the 16 commercial properties representing 426,413 square feet of the 793,864 square feet. The largest owner is Spitzer Enterprises, followed by Friedland Properties and then Reuben Brothers.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling zero square feet. It is a one-unit J-3 building submitted by Hans Linderoth with plans filed April 30, 2007 and permitted August 3, 2016.
The majority, or 45 percent of the 793,864 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 39 percent of the space.
The seller
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Spitzer Enterprises owned at least five commercial properties with 1,163 residential units in New York City with 1,757,912 square feet and a city-determined market value of $527.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $987.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Citibank, 2020-420K, and M&T Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, all identified are elevator properties. The bulk, or 55 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 45 percent of the space.
The buyer
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Naftali Group owned at least 12 commercial properties with 939 residential units in New York City with 859,112 square feet and a city-determined market value of $171 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.7 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Bank Hapoalim, Bank OZK, and HSBC Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 65 percent of the 859,112 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 27 percent of the space. The bulk, or 68 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 32 percent of the space.
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