Two80 Real Estate pays $4.2M to RockFarmer for 25-unit walkup in Washington Heights

Two80 Real Estate Ventures through the entity Jmgd 172nd LLC paid $4.2 million to RockFarmer Properties through the entity 630 W. 172nd Street LLC for the 25-unit residential walkup building (C1) at 630 West 172nd Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan.
The deal closed on October 20, 2022 and was recorded on October 24, 2022. The property has 22,585 square feet of built space and 14,770 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 37,360 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $183 and the price per buildable square foot is $111 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 May 23, 2011, for $2.1 million. The signatory for RockFarmer Properties was George Michelis. The signatory for Two80 Real Estate Ventures was Jesse Deutch.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Two80 Real Estate Ventures purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller RockFarmer Properties had not purchased any other properties and sold 48 units in one transaction for a total of $15.2 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes John Petras, head officer and George Michelis, officer. The business entities are Douglaston Realty Management Corp and 630 West 172nd Street, Llc. The 22,585-square-foot property generated revenue of $437,174 or $19 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 630 West 172nd Street parcel has frontage of 65 feet and is 95 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,206 square feet. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.5 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 $150 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 $5 million on this tax lot.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 28 of the 45 commercial properties representing 1,427,780 square feet of the 2,059,257 square feet. The largest owner is NYC Department of Education, followed by Alma Realty and then BLDG Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 62 percent of the 2.1 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 32 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that RockFarmer Properties owned at least eight commercial properties in New York City with 171,414 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 57 percent of the 171,414 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 32 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Two80 Real Estate Ventures owned at least 12 commercial properties in New York City with 158 residential units, 135,548 square feet. They are all located in Manhattan.

Correction: An earlier version of this post reported that Two80 had only one additional property in New York City, when in fact it has at least 12.

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