Rockefeller, Atlas Capital record $96M purchase of UWS dev site from Catholic Church

In an expected transaction, Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group through the entity RG 200 W 97th Owner LLC paid $96 million to the Roman Catholic Church through its Roman Catholic Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory the Great for the development site at 207 West 96th Street in Upper West Side, Manhattan and specialty building (M9) at 204 West 97th Street in Upper West Side, Manhattan. The expected use is ground up development.

Rockefeller Group has filed plans to demolish several buildings among these it has purchased, as PincusCo reported in December.
The deal closed on March 4, 2026 and was recorded on March 20, 2026. The two properties have 13,580 square feet of built space and 140,726 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 154,212 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $7,069 and the price per buildable square foot is $622 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 Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholic Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory the Great was Carlos Limongi. The signatory for Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group was Jeffrey A. Goldberger , Andrew B. Cohen , and Gillian Murray . The contract date was September 23, 2025.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Rockefeller Group had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Roman Catholic Church had not purchased any other properties and sold 25 properties in 15 transactions for a total of $285.4 million over the same time period.

Commercial Observer reported on January 30, 2026 that Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group paid $96 million to Roman Catholic Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory the Great for 200 W. 97th St., Manhattan, NY.

The property

The specialty building in Upper West Side has 13,580 square feet of built space and 140,726 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 154,212 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 106 feet and is 175 feet deep with a total lot size of 18,882 square feet. The zoning is R9 which allows for up to 7.52 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

The properties were involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $96 million judgment concerning a leave to sell filed on January 30, 2026, by Roman Catholic Church, Archdiocese of New York, and Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory the Great against Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $3,010 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On these lots, there is one active major alteration construction project, M00850203, for a 7,965 square-foot 54 building. The project was submitted by Steven Pace with plans filed March 30, 2023 and permitted March 10, 2025.

The neighborhood

In Upper West Side, The majority, or 59 percent of the 52.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, Upper West Side has 3.1 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 12th highest in Manhattan. For development, Upper West Side has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 22nd highest in Manhattan. It had 1.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 207 West 96th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the six commercial properties representing 250,062 square feet of the 303,367 square feet. The largest owner is Nathan Benelyahou, followed by Tal Adini and then Fortune Society.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 88 percent of the 303,367 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 9 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Roman Catholic Church owned at least 153 commercial properties with 886 residential units in New York City with 5,692,132 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.1 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 38 percent of the 5,692,132 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with M1 properties next occupying 16 percent of the space. The bulk, or 46 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 24 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Atlas Capital Group owned at least 18 commercial properties with 2,208 residential units in New York City with 2,433,004 square feet and a city-determined market value of $392.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $939.4 million in debt, with top three lenders as Square Mile Capital Management, MF1 Capital, and TPG Real Estate Partners respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 65 percent of the 2,433,004 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with D7 properties next occupying 31 percent of the space. The bulk, or 54 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 46 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Rockefeller Group owned at least three commercial properties with 381 residential units in New York City with 4,599,082 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $84 million in debt, borrowed from Apple Bank for Savings. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 4,599,082 square feet of built space are office properties, with industrial properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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