Spitzer Enterprises files plans for 26-unit condo in Carnegie Hill

Charles Morisi, manager of Spitzer Enterprises, submitted a new building construction project for a 26-unit, 81,603 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 985 Fifth Avenue in Carnegie Hill, Manhattan. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on November 1, 2022 under job number M08011563. It calls for the construction of a 19-story building. The project is described in the filing as: Construction of new 19-story building with cellar and 2 subcellar levels. The architect is SLCE Architects. Prior media reports from The Real Deal indicate this will be a residential condominium building.

The project plans a swimming pool, sauna and other amenities for a lower level, 10 apartments on the second floor and then one apartment for each floor from floors three to 17, then a duplex split between floors 18 and 19.

The property

The 985 Fifth Avenue parcel has frontage of 76 feet and is 115 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,384 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R10 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Metropolitan Museum Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $47.7 million.

Prior sales and revenue

The existing elevator building in Carnegie Hill has 102,053 square feet of built space and 1,765 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 103,840 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The property is owned by Spitzer Enterprises.

The 102,053-square-foot property generated revenue of $8.5 million or $83 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020.

The neighborhood

In Carnegie Hill, the majority, or 57 percent of the 13.6 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space. In sales, Carnegie Hill has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1.2 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 13th highest in Manhattan. For development, Carnegie Hill has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 26th highest in Manhattan. It had 879,448 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 18 commercial properties representing 95,492 square feet of the 329,789 square feet. The largest owner is Naftali Group, followed by Daniel & Abbe Klores and then Solil Management. On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 166,052 square feet. The largest is a 26-unit, 81,603 square-foot R-2 building developed by Charles Morisi with plans filed November 1, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 15-unit, 60,268 square-foot R-2 building developed by Michael Witek with plans filed May 9, 2018 and permitted April 16, 2019.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Spitzer Enterprises owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 1,757,912 square feet and a city-determined market value of $419.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $987.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Citibank, 2020-420K, and M&T Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, all identified are elevator properties. The bulk, or 55 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 45 percent of the space.

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Eliot Spitzer, head officer and Anne Spitzer, officer. The business entities are Rose Associates, Inc. and 985 Land Holding Llc.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 985 5 Avenue, PincusCo identified five commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those five items, five were sales above $5 million totaling $96.7 million.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.