Urban Standard pays $6.5M to Matera family to expand Tribeca assemblage

Seth Weissman’s Urban Standard Capital paid $6.5 million to the Matera family in two transactions for a two-parcel development site at 321 Church Street, also known as 33 Lispenard Street, and the adjacent parcel 325 Church Street. Urban Standard Capital has long planned a new building at 31-33 Lispenard Street, including a presentation to the city’s Landmarks Commission in 2019.

The sale price was $6.5 million, according to the buyer, but the transfer records show $1 million each. It was not immediately clear why.

These purchases expand Urban Standard Capital’s holdings on this block. It already owns an adjacent building, 35 Lispenard Street, which it bought in July 2022 for $3.3 million. Urban Standard Capital is a developer, operator and lender.

In the first of the new transactions, Urban Standard Capital through the entity USC 33 Lispenard LLC paid $1 million to Peter Matera, Margaret Matera, and John Matera through the entity Matera Family Limited Partnership for the two-unit mixed-use building (K4) at 321 Church Street in Tribeca, Manhattan.
The deal closed on June 17, 2024 and was recorded on June 24, 2024. The property has 1,700 square feet of built space and 9,001 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 10,709 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $588 and the price per buildable square foot is $93 per the PincusCo analysis.

Urban Standard Capital through the entity Usc 325 Church LLC paid $1 million to Peter Matera, Margaret Matera, and John Matera through the entity Matera Family Limited Partnership for the two-unit mixed-use building (S2) at 325 Church Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. The deal closed on June 17, 2024 and was recorded on June 24, 2024. The property has 3,240 square feet of built space and 2,175 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 5,411 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $308 and the price per buildable square foot is $184 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 Peter Matera, Margaret Matera, and John Matera was Vincent Del Vecchio. The signatory for Urban Standard Capital was Seth Weissman.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Urban Standard Capital purchased four properties in three transactions for a total of $9.1 million and sold two properties in two transactions for a total of $8.8 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Peter Matera had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The mixed-use building with 2 residential units in Tribeca has 1,700 square feet of built space and 9,001 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 10,709 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 35 feet and is 50 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,779 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C6-2A which allows for up to 6 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 6.02 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Tribeca East Historic District. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.1 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 two DOB violations and $1,000 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a five-unit, 10,036 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Peter Matera with plans filed March 20, 2019 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Tribeca, The bulk, or 47 percent of the 15.3 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Tribeca has 1.9 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $521.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 16th highest in Manhattan. For development, Tribeca has 2.4 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 14th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 17 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of six of the 16 commercial properties representing 71,236 square feet of the 123,030 square feet. The largest owner is Vornado Realty Trust, followed by Urban Standard Capital and then United American Land.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 28,928 square feet. The largest is a 21-unit, 18,892 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Dan Forrester with plans filed February 27, 2017 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a five-unit, 10,036 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Peter Matera with plans filed March 20, 2019 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 53 percent of the 123,030 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 39 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Peter Matera owned at least one commercial property with 11 residential units in New York City with 19,920 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single elevator property. It is located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Urban Standard Capital owned at least nine commercial properties with 84 residential units in New York City with 37,813 square feet and a city-determined market value of $7.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 58 percent of the 37,813 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 32 percent of the space. The bulk, or 96 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 4 percent of the space.

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