Robert Malta signs $56M refi with Signature Bank for eight properties in Manhattan

Robert Malta through the entity 106-108 West 73rd Street Associates LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Signature Bank valued at $56 million for eight properties including the 16-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 106 West 73rd Street in Upper West Side, Manhattan, eight-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 169 9th Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan, and eight-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 635 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan.
The deal closed on June 8, 2022 and was recorded on August 5, 2022. The prior lender was Signature Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $55.1 million.The eight properties have 69,801 square feet of built space and 55,238 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 120,523 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $802 and the price per buildable square foot is $464 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 Robert Malta was Robert Malta. The signatory for Signature Bank was Kenneth A. Stagnari.

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 169 9th Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Robert Malta, head officer and Raul Escarza, agent. The business entity is Lms Realty Llc. Out of the eight properties, five with a total of 69,801 square feet of built space generated revenue of $2.5 million per year.

The property

The 169 9th Avenue parcel has frontage of 35 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,481 square feet. The zoning is R7B which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The property is in the Chelsea Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $7.5 million.The most recent loan totaled $51.1 million and was provided by Signature Bank on July 28, 2020.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $8,810 in ECB penalties, 13 housing violations, and $15,345 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot buildings, one out of the eight buildings received a initial certificate of occupancy in the last ten years. There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million on this tax lot.

The block

On the tax block of 169 9th Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 18 commercial properties representing 192,863 square feet of the 254,708 square feet. The largest owner is Hakimian Organization, followed by Hidrock Properties and then Churchill Real Estate Holdings.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 56 percent of the 253,255 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Robert Malta owned at least seven commercial properties in New York City with 61,137 square feet and a city-determined market value of $32.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $51.1 million in debt, borrowed from Signature Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 91 percent of the 61,137 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 9 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

Direct link to Acris document. link