Rivky Brach pays $3.7M for mixed-use in Bedford Stuyvesant

Rivky Brach through the entity Myrtle Woods 684 LLC paid $3.7 million to Mordechai Spira through the entity Myrtle 684 LLC for the six-unit mixed-use building (S5) at 684B Myrtle Avenue and the adjacent six-unit mixed-use building (S5) at 684 Myrtle Avenue, both in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on October 9, 2024 and was recorded on November 1, 2024. The two properties have 11,200 square feet of built space and 2,867 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 14,068 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $330 and the price per buildable square foot is $263 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 Mordechai Spira was Neil Fink. The signatory for Rivky Brach was Rivky Brach. The contract date was April 17, 2024.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 684B Myrtle Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Rivky Brach purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $1.7 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Mordechai Spira 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 Mike Spera, head officer and Steve Spera, officer. The business entity is Myrtle 684 Llc.

The property

The mixed-use building with 6 residential units in Bedford Stuyvesant has 11,200 square feet of built space and 2,867 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 14,068 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 20 feet and is 86 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,737 square feet. 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 $649,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received two housing violations and $330 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 neighborhood

In Bedford Stuyvesant, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 54.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Bedford Stuyvesant has the 8th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.1 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Bedford Stuyvesant has 2.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Brooklyn. 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 were three pre-foreclosure suit filed among other mixed-use buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On the tax block of 684B Myrtle Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 16 commercial properties representing 128,450 square feet of the 154,331 square feet. The largest owner is Joel Braver, followed by Isaac Herskovitz and then All Year Management.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 35,446 square feet. The largest is a 20-unit, 19,288 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Joel Werczberger and filed by Joel Werczberger with plans filed May 27, 2022 and permitted July 26, 2023. The second largest is a 15-unit, 16,158 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Esther Margareten and filed by Esther Margareten with plans filed January 25, 2024 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 42 percent of the 154,331 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Rivky Brach owned at least four commercial properties with 25 residential units in New York City with 56,096 square feet and a city-determined market value of $7.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $76.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, BridgeCity Capital, and Ponce Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 53 percent of the 56,096 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with elevator properties next occupying 30 percent of the space. The bulk, or 63 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 37 percent of the space.

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