Republic Bank files $10.3M pre-foreclosure in Lenox Hill

Republic Bank, also known as Republic First Bank, alleges property owner Shawn Khodadadian is in default on a $10.3 million loan that is secured by the 10,253-square-foot residential building 46 East 65th Street in Lenox Hill, Manhattan.
Republic First Bank is not related to First Republic Bank, which was acquired by JPMorgan Chase after being closed by the FDIC.
Case LINK
Court filings represent the position of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete. The property owner has not yet responded to the court filing.

According to the complaint, the bank has declared the loan in default for several reasons, but it does not allege a payment default. The alleged defaults are because Khodadadian is a named defendant in another foreclosure case, on Broome Street [850198/2021], because a receiver was appointed in the Broome Street Case, because the developer was obligated to complete all work free and clear of all liens on or before March 31, 2022 but has not, in part because construction has stalled.

The property

The elevator building with 5 residential units in Lenox Hill has 10,253 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 20 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,007 square feet. The zoning is R8B which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The property is in the Upper East Side Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $9.6 million. The most recent loan totaled $10.3 million and was provided by Republic First Bank on April 20, 2020.

Prior sales and revenue

This property was sold for $12 million on October 4, 2018.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received three DOB violations and $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The property was involved in two lawsuits and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The highest value suit was a $10.3 million commercial foreclosure concerning a loan filed on June 23, 2023, by Republic Bank against Shawn Khodadadian.

The neighborhood

In Lenox Hill, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 52 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Lenox Hill has the highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $4.7 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Lenox Hill has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 9th highest in Manhattan. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 22 commercial properties representing 87,713 square feet of the 440,415 square feet. The largest owner is Dario Nunez, followed by Kamran Hakim and then Rosie Goldberg. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Shawn Khodadadian owned at least two commercial properties with five residential units in New York City with 25,067 square feet and a city-determined market value of $12.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $18.8 million in debt, borrowed from Republic First Bank and JPMorgan Chase. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 59 percent of the 25,067 square feet of built space are office properties, with elevator properties next occupying 41 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Shawn Khodadadian, head officer and Saba Khodadadian, site manager. The business entity is 46 East 65th Street Llc.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 46 East 65 Street, PincusCo identified seven commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those seven items, one was in new building development. It was a new building permit issued on November 22, 2022 for a 83,837-square-foot residential (R-2) building with 11 residential units at 760 Madison Avenue. Of those seven items, six were sales above $5 million totaling $110 million. The most recent of the six was Jeffrey Shemia which bought the 4,940-square-foot, three-unit three-family building (C0) on 54 East 66th Street for $10.3 million from Peter Smith and Patricia Smith on April 26, 2023.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.