Timber Equities pays $48.2M to Catholic Church for dev site in Chelsea

Timber Equities through the entity 341 W 25th L.P. paid $48.2 million to the Roman Catholic Church of Guardian Angel for the specialty building (M1) at 341 West 25th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan, specialty building (M3) at 343 West 25th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan, and specialty building (M1) at 329 West 25th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. The expected use is ground up development.
The deal closed on July 25, 2025 and was recorded on August 4, 2025. The three properties have 47,022 square feet of built space and 71,844 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 118,901 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,026 and the price per buildable square foot is $405 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 Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholic Church of Guardian Angel was Edmund J. Whalen and Aldo Myro. The signatory for Timber Equities was Joseph Seidenfeld . The contract date was December 16, 2024. PincusCo first reported on this when it went into contract.

The existing buildings are on three tax lots totaling approximately 20,000 square feet and 200 feet of frontage on 25th Street, and the buildings include, “The former rectory (Lot 15), (ii) the former school (Lot 17), and (iii) the former convent (Lot 23),” according to the contract. The buyer plans to demolish the existing structures and build new construction, “Purchaser intends to remove the Building from the Land and thereafter undertake and complete the ground-up construction of a new building(s).”

The brokers were JLL’s Guthrie Garvin and Jonathan Hageman, who were marketing the project.

According to the JLL marketing material, “The entire site is located within the R8 zoning district, which allows for residential and/or community facility as-of-right. In total, the site allows for approximately 128,375 BSF at the 6.5 FAR allowed under the zoning district. Given the expansive frontage and combined footprint, the site allows for a myriad of potential residential massing options.”

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Timber Equities had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Roman Catholic Church had not purchased any other properties and sold 22 properties in 14 transactions for a total of $256.8 million over the same time period.

Violations and lawsuits

The properties were involved in one court case over the past two years. The court case was a $48.2 million request for court approval, filed on January 30, 2025, by the Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholic Church of Guardian Angel and Saint Columba. The request was granted.

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 Chelsea, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 52.5 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Chelsea has the 6th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Chelsea has 1.5 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 21st highest in Manhattan. It had 2.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Roman Catholic Church owned at least 152 commercial properties with 886 residential units in New York City with 5,060,418 square feet and a city-determined market value of $978.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 5,060,418 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with M1 properties next occupying 18 percent of the space. The bulk, or 44 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 21 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Timber Equities owned at least five commercial properties with 324 residential units in New York City with 98,947 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $120.8 million in debt, borrowed from Bank Hapoalim and Webster Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 59 percent of the 98,947 square feet of built space are D6 properties, with elevator properties next occupying 39 percent of the space. The bulk, or 61 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 39 percent of the space.

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