Raymond Guindi pays $4.4M for dev site in Kensington

Raymond Guindi through the entity Chai Avenue Development, LLC paid $4.4 million to the Margulies family for the two-unit building (B2) at 609 Ocean Parkway in Kensington, Brooklyn. The expected use is ground up development.
The deal closed on January 9, 2025 and was recorded on January 23, 2025. The property has 3,888 square feet of built space and 24,704 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 28,560 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,131 and the price per buildable square foot is $154 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 December 23, 2005, for $1.9 million. The signatory for Benjamin Margulies, Abraham Margulies, and Israel Margulies was Benjamin Margulies, Abraham Margulies, and Israel Margulies. The signatory for Raymond Guindi was Raymond Guindi. The contract date was November 4, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Raymond Guindi had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Benjamin Margulies had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The 1-4 family building with 2 residential units in Kensington has 3,888 square feet of built space and 24,704 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 28,560 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 82 feet and is 140 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,140 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. 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 property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $250 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 five of the seven commercial properties representing 217,919 square feet of the 259,507 square feet. The largest owner is Mosdos Satmar Bp, followed by Solomon Schwimmer and then Gerald Bertuna.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 20,821 square feet. It is a 31-unit, 20,821 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Barry Schless with plans filed June 13, 2018 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 71 percent of the 259,507 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Raymond Guindi owned at least one commercial property with 27 residential units in New York City with 26,971 square feet and a city-determined market value of $4.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $9.3 million in debt, borrowed from TriState Capital Bank. The portfolio consists of at least a single elevator property. It is located in Brooklyn.

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