Rybak signs $52M construction loan with Emerald Creek for 31-unit condo project in Midtown East

Rybak Development through the entity 660 Lexington Avenue Development LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Emerald Creek Capital through the entity Emerald Creek Capital 3, LLC valued at $52 million for the 31-unit condominium development at 660 Lexington Avenue in Midtown East, Manhattan.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, M08028413, for a 31-unit, 52,378 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Rybak Development and filed by Sergey Rybak with plans filed November 1, 2022 and permitted January 9, 2024. On the tax lot, the most recent condominium plan was filed by 660 LEXINGTON AVENUE DEVELOPMENT LLC to create 31 residential units and 1 commercial units in a building at 133 East 55th Street in Midtown East, Manhattan, called 133 East 55th Street Condominium that has a $111 million sellout, according to an March 05, 2024 submission to the New York State Attorney General. The principals of the sponsor, 660 LEXINGTON AVENUE DEVELOPMENT LLC, were Jason Reznik, Sergey Rybak, and Semyon Vays.
The deal closed on August 7, 2024 and was recorded on August 21, 2024. The prior lender was Maxim Capital Group which held debt that had an original loan amount of $13 million.
The loan price per planned square foot is $993 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 owner bought the property on December 6, 2021, for $24.4 million. The signatory for Rybak Development was Sergey Rybak. The signatory for Emerald Creek Capital was Mark Penna.

Prior sales and revenue

The 8,824-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.2 million or $137 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The retail building in Midtown East has 8,824 square feet of built space and 35,280 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 44,100 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 60 feet and is 73 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,410 square feet. The zoning is C5-2.5 which allows for up to 12 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $11.2 million. The most recent loan totaled $10 million and was provided by Maxim Capital Group on May 4, 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 one DOB violation, $53,750 in ECB penalties, and $54,350 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Midtown East, The majority, or 81 percent of the 62.6 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 7 percent of the space. In sales, Midtown East has the 2nd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $3.2 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Midtown East is the 2nd most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 15.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 25 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other retail buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 12 of the 25 commercial properties representing 1,121,074 square feet of the 1,446,501 square feet. The largest owner is L&L Holding Company, followed by Sovereign Partners and then Sol Goldman Investments.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 624,252 square feet. The largest is a 511,538 square-foot business (B) building submitted by L&L Holding Company and filed by William Potts with plans filed September 18, 2013 and permitted August 18, 2014. The second largest is a 62-unit, 59,819 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Zeckendorf Development and filed by Arthur Zeckendorf Iii with plans filed August 12, 2019 and permitted January 28, 2020.

The majority, or 82 percent of the 1.4 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 6 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Rybak Development owned at least seven commercial properties with 56 residential units in New York City with 106,545 square feet and a city-determined market value of $36.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $354.4 million in debt, with top three lenders as Valley National Bank, MF1 Capital, and Bank Leumi respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 106,545 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 33 percent of the space. The bulk, or 67 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 33 percent of the space.

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