Russell Fridman pays $8M for 37-unit walkup in Gramercy

Russell Fridman through the entity 305 East 21st Owner LLC paid $8 million to Edith Halpert, Sammy Chaim Halpert, Chanie Engel and others through entities 305 Ohara LLC for the 37-unit residential walkup building (C1) at 305 East 21st Street in Gramercy, Manhattan.
The deal closed on June 27, 2023 and was recorded on July 24, 2023. The property has 21,356 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $374 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 Edith Halpert and Sammy Chaim Halpert and Chanie Engel was Edith Halpert and Sammy Chaim Halpert and Chanie Engel. The signatory for Russell Fridman was Russell Fridman. Fridman is also an executive with the lender AJ Partners.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Russell Fridman purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $3 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Edith Halpert 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 Edith Halpert, head officer and Eileen O’Hara, officer. The business entity is Edith Halpert Irrevocable Trust. The 21,356-square-foot property generated revenue of $797,358 or $37 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential walkup building with 37 residential units in Gramercy has 21,356 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,999 square feet. The zoning is R8B which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.5 million.

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 $3,125 in ECB penalties, six housing violations, and $4,905 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 10 of the 24 commercial properties representing 200,479 square feet of the 700,310 square feet. The largest owner is Scharfman Organization, followed by Related Companies and then New York University.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 50 percent of the 700,310 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with office buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Russell Fridman owned at least one commercial property with 20 residential units in New York City with 9,523 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Manhattan.

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