Rialto buys $6.2M note secured by 31-unit walkup in Washington Heights

Rialto Capital Management through the entity Rref V-D DLI GS, LLC bought a note with an original principal of $6.2 million from M&T Bank secured by Michael Aryeh’s 31-unit residential walkup building (C1) at 643 West 171st Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan.
The deal closed on March 31, 2025 and was recorded on April 8, 2025. The prior lender was M&T Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $6.2 million.The property has 26,005 square feet of built space and 17,994 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 44,036 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data.
The owner bought the property on November 30, 2016, for $9.8 million. The signatory for the original loan on behalf of Michael Aryeh was Michael Aryeh. The signatory for Rialto Capital Management, also known as Rialto Management Group was Liat Heller .

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Michael Aryeh, head officer and David Strauss, officer. The business entities are 643 Bar Partners Llc and 643 Bar Partners Llc. The 26,005-square-foot property generated revenue of $647,654 or $25 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential walkup building with 31 residential units in Washington Heights has 26,005 square feet of built space and 17,994 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 44,036 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 77 feet and is 95 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,315 square feet. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.7 million. The property has 30 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.

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 26 housing violations and $2,000 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 36 of the 45 commercial properties representing 1,738,525 square feet of the 2,059,257 square feet. The largest owner is Nyc Department Of Education, followed by Alma Realty and then Bldg Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 62 percent of the 2.1 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 32 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Michael Aryeh owned at least 21 commercial properties with 746 residential units in New York City with 619,553 square feet and a city-determined market value of $67.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $140.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as JPMorgan Chase, Signature Bank, and New York Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 53 percent of the 619,553 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 47 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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