Vanbarton, AVRS pay $103M to Archdiocese, get $150M construction loan for resi conversion in Sutton Place

Vanbarton Group and AVRS Partners through the entity X11 First Ave LLC paid $103 million to Archdiocese of New York of the Roman Catholic Church through the entity Ecclesiastical Assistance Corporation for the office building (W3) at 1011 First Avenue in Sutton Place, Manhattan. The expected use is rehab construction to convert the office building into a 420-unit apartment building.

At the same time, Eldridge Capital Management provided a $150 construction loan for the renovation and conversion of the building. PincusCo reported in May 2025 on the Department of Buildings plans when Vanbarton filed them, in
The deal closed on July 9, 2025 and was recorded on July 21, 2025. The property has 398,214 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $258 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 Archdiocese of New York was Joseph P. LaMorte . The signatory for Vanbarton Group was Damiano Buffa . The contract date was October 9, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Vanbarton Group purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $95.5 million and sold three properties in three transactions for a total of $166 million over the past 24 months.

The property

The specialty building in Sutton Place has 398,214 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 200 feet and is 214 feet deep with a total lot size of 35,681 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 city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $121.9 million.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was involved in one court case over the past two years. The suit was a $103 million judgment concerning the church seeking the court’s approval for it to sell the property, an action filed on May 21, 2025, by the Archdiocese of New York and Roman Catholic Church. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation and $6,875 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project, M01216837, for a 420-unit, 351,975 square-foot J-2 building. The project was submitted by Vanbarton Group and filed by Joseph Chilelli with plans filed May 7, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Sutton Place, The majority, or 70 percent of the 5.2 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space. In sales, Sutton Place has the 42nd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Manhattan with $28.6 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Sutton Place has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 142,369 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the five commercial properties representing 186,000 square feet of the 1,178,038 square feet. The identified owner is Korman Communities.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 50 percent of the 1.2 million square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 35 percent of the space.

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 PincusCo database currently indicates that Archdiocese Of New York owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 876,567 square feet and a city-determined market value of $233.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 95 percent of the 876,567 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with retail properties next occupying 4 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vanbarton Group owned at least 18 commercial properties with 1,121 residential units in New York City with 2,757,486 square feet and a city-determined market value of $934 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.4 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Blackstone Group, Blackstone Mortgage Trust, and New York Life Insurance Company respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 74 percent of the 2,757,486 square feet of built space are office properties, with elevator properties next occupying 14 percent of the space. The bulk, or 94 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 6 percent of the space.

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