Torkian Group signs $145M construction loan for 106-unit development in Yorkville

Torkian Group through the entity 83 Owners LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Valley National Bank valued at $145 million for the 106-unit development at 250 East 83rd Street in Yorkville, Manhattan.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 106-unit, 120,969 square-foot residential(R-2) building. The project was submitted by Annie Xiao with plans filed July 16, 2021.

The loan closed on November 23, 2022 and was recorded on December 1, 2022. The prior lender was Signature Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $15.7 million.
The signatory for Torkian Group was Hersel Torikian.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners for the existing property according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Hersel Torkian, head officer and Behrooz Torkian, officer. The business entity is 83 Owners Llc.

The property

The 250 East 83rd Street parcel has frontage of 102 feet and is 101 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,386 square feet. The zoning is C1-9 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $12.4 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $5,000 in ECB penalties and $5,350 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 14 of the 31 commercial properties representing 133,600 square feet of the 354,500 square feet. The largest owner is Torkian Group, followed by Croman Real Estate and then REDA Holdings.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 329,850 square feet. The largest is a 86-unit, 208,881-square-foot R-2 building developed by Michael Witek with plans filed May 28, 2019 and permitted December 27, 2019. The second largest is a 106-unit, 120,969-square-foot R-2 building developed by Annie Xiao with plans filed July 16, 2021 and permitted April 12, 2022.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 354,500 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Torkian Group owned at least seven commercial properties in New York City with 155,176 square feet and a city-determined market value of $75.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $99.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Bank Leumi, New York Community Bank, and M&T Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 78 percent of the 155,176 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 13 percent of the space. The bulk, or 97 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 3 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link