Sharon Sternheim, Robert Sternheim sign $15M for Zitomer location in Lenox Hill

The owners of the iconic Upper East Side drugstore Zitomer Pharmacy,Sharon Sternheim and Robert Sternheim through the entity 969 Madison Avenue LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Bank of America valued at $15 million for two retail condominium units at 969 Madison Avenue, with an alternate address at 32 East 76th Street in Lenox Hill, Manhattan
The deal closed on March 26, 2024 and was recorded on April 1, 2024. The prior lender was Guardian Life Insurance Company of America which held debt that had an original loan amount of $18.2 million.
The two properties have 19,353 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $775 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 Sharon Sternheim and Robert Sternheim was Robert Sternheim. The signatory for Bank of America was Adam Zimmer. Sharon Sternheim and her son Robert Sternheim own the Thriftway Drug chain that includes the landmark Zitomer Pharmacy at this location. This is a refinance of an $18.25 million loan given in 2014.  Thriftway Drug

The property

The office condo in Lenox Hill has 19,353 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has a total lot size of 10,082 square feet. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $4.3 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 not received any significant violations 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 neighborhood

In Lenox Hill, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 52 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Lenox Hill has the highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Lenox Hill is the 10th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 4.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 9 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 32 East 76th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 19 commercial properties representing 169,837 square feet of the 517,633 square feet. The largest owner is Reuben Brothers, followed by Nathan Benelyahou and then Mrr Development.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 42 percent of the 517,633 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space.

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