Sabet Group pays $15M for two walkups in Chelsea with 44 units

Sabet Group through the entity 224-30 Eighth Ave LLC paid $15 million to Sonia Jaye through the entity 224 Eighth Avenue Corporation for the 22-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 224 8th Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan and 22-unit residential walkup building (C7) at 228 8th Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan.
The deal closed on June 26, 2023 and was recorded on June 30, 2023. The two properties have 31,705 square feet of built space and 471 square feet of additional air rights according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $473 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 Sonia Jaye was Robert M. Pollack. The signatory for Sabet Group was Alfred Sabetfard. Sonia Jaye’s entity is in care of the law firm Marcus & Pollack, where Robert Pollack is a partner. He is also a trustee of the Sonia Jaye and Edward Barsukov foundation, a nonprofit.  The Jaye entity acquired the building in a zero-dollar transfer in 1975 with the seller signed by Jacob A. Fine.

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 224 8th Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Sabet Group purchased four properties in four transactions for a total of $35.5 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Sonia Jaye 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 Sonia Jaye, head officer and Seth Weinstein, officer. The business entity is 224 Eighth Avenue Corp. The two properties with a total of 31,705 square feet of built space generated revenue of $1.9 million per year or $61 per square foot. The sale price per square foot was $473.

The property

The residential walkup building with 22 residential units in Chelsea has 31,705 square feet of built space and 471 square feet of additional air rights according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 40 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,999 square feet. The zoning is C1-6A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 4 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $5.7 million.

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 $6,250 in ECB penalties and $8,250 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 the tax block of 224 8th Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 20 commercial properties representing 251,806 square feet of the 343,945 square feet. The largest owner is Stellar Management, followed by Shahram John Gatan and then S.W. Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 53 percent of the 343,945 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 40 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Sabet Group owned at least 34 commercial properties with 531 residential units in New York City with 524,545 square feet and a city-determined market value of $153.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $355.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, Citibank, and Dime Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 56 percent of the 524,545 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with hotel properties next occupying 25 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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