Sioni Group pays $21.3M to Empire Management for office in Penn Plaza, second building on block

Ray Yadidi’s Sioni Group through the entity 363 7th LLC paid $21.3 million to Empire Management through the entity Gateway Realty, LLC for the office building (O4) at 363 Seventh Avenue at the corner of 30th Street, in Penn Plaza, Manhattan.

Sioni Group filed plans in December 2024 to convert the Stewart Hotel, a larger building at 371 Seventh Avenue, which is on the same block but north at the corner of 31st Street, into a 625-unit residential building.
The new deal closed on February 26, 2025 and was recorded on March 5, 2025. The property has 83,642 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $255 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 seller bought the property on October 1, 2014, for $35.7 million. The signatory for Empire Management was Fred Ohebshalom . The signatory for Sioni Group was Ray Yadidi . The contract date was February 26, 2025.
A BKREA team of Bob Knakal, Ryan Candel, Faraz Cheema and Jas Saini 363 7th Avenue and brokered the sale.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Sioni Group purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $26.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Empire Management purchased three properties in one transaction for a total of $76.4 million and sold six properties in four transactions for a total of $107.6 million over the same time period. The 83,642-square-foot property generated revenue of $3.5 million or $41 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The office building in Penn Plaza has 83,642 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 46 feet and is 75 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,469 square feet. The zoning is M1-6 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $18.3 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 one DOB violation, $7,500 in ECB penalties, and $10,200 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 neighborhood

In Penn Plaza, The majority, or 76 percent of the 20.4 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space. In sales, Penn Plaza has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $294.3 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 25th highest in Manhattan. For development, Penn Plaza is the 10th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 20 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 14 commercial properties representing 672,992 square feet of the 1,513,826 square feet. The largest owner is Vanbarton Group, followed by Justin Management and then Mack Real Estate Group.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 55 percent of the 1.5 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 43 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Empire Management owned at least 25 commercial properties with 1,107 residential units in New York City with 1,303,383 square feet and a city-determined market value of $256 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $336.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as Barclays, Santander Bank, and New York Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 83 percent of the 1,303,383 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with H1 properties next occupying 10 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Sioni Group owned at least seven commercial properties in New York City with 596,951 square feet and a city-determined market value of $185.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $233.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as Starwood Property Trust, Signature Bank, and Valley National Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 596,951 square feet of built space are office properties, with specialty properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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