Nonprofit pays $6.9M for Metro Theater in Upper West Side

The nonprofit Upper West Side Cinema Center paid $6.9 million through an estate sale of the late Albert Bialek through the entity Broadway Metro Associates L.P. for the specialty building (J8) at 2624-2626 Broadway in Upper West Side, Manhattan. The expected use is owner-occupied.
The deal closed on April 4, 2025 and was recorded on April 8, 2025. The property has 15,000 square feet of built space and 22,600 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 37,600 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $462 and the price per buildable square foot is $184 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 Albert Bialek was Larry H. Ingber. The contract date was October 24, 2024. Larry H. Ingber is the executor of the estate of Albert Bialek. Upper West Side Cinema Center is a nonprofit that plans to renovate and reopen the landmarked Metro Theater that has been closed since 2005.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Upper West Side Cinema Center had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Albert Bialek had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The specialty building in Upper West Side has 15,000 square feet of built space and 22,600 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 37,600 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,000 square feet. The zoning is R9A which allows for up to 7.52 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Individual Landmark. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.6 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 $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project, 121208282, for a 10,270 square-foot M building. The project was submitted by Albert Bialek with plans filed June 2, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Upper West Side, The majority, or 59 percent of the 52.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Upper West Side has 4 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1.1 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 9th highest in Manhattan. For development, Upper West Side has 2.4 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 13th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other specialty buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the seven commercial properties representing 445,753 square feet of the 469,417 square feet. The largest owner is Jay Wartski, followed by Barbara Gertel Goltzer and then Andrew Goltzer.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 232,187 square feet. It is a 42-unit, 232,187 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Michael Marino, Iii with plans filed July 24, 2017 and permitted April 9, 2018.

The majority, or 76 percent of the 469,417 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space.

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