Victor Sigoura’s Legion pays $57.5M to Philips, Lawland, others for office building in Greenwich Village

Victor Sigoura’s Legion Investment Group, one of the city’s most active condo developers, and partner EJS Group, through the entity 5w13 Owner LLC paid $57.5 million to Philips International, Lawland Properties, Arnold Penner Real Estate, and Rhodes Building Management through the entity Friedland W 14 Owner LLC (and others) for the office building (O2) at 8 West 14th Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The building has an alternate address of 5 West 13th Street.
The deal closed on May 9, 2024 and was recorded on May 14, 2024. The property has 110,000 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $522 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 July 11, 2023, for $31.1 million. The signatory for Philips International, Lawland Properties, Arnold Penner Real Estate, and Rhodes Building Management was Philip Pilevsky. The signatory for Legion Investment Group was Deborah Basica. The contract date was January 10, 2024.

On July 11, 2023, Philips International sold several stakes valued at $31.1 million in the building. Philips retained a 25 percent interest. The buyers were Lawland Properties, Arnold Penner Real Estate and Rhodes Building Management.

EJS Group is developing condos at 200 East 75th Street in Lenox Hill, as well as developing rentals at 12 Halsey Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The 5 West 13th Street purchase was financed with a $37.5 million loan from Maxim Capital Group, which was arranged by a Walker & Dunlop team led by Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, and Sean Bastian, according to a spokesperson for the developers.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Legion Investment Group purchased six properties in six transactions for a total of $177.7 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Philips International purchased one properties in one transactions for a total of $31.1 million and sold three properties in two transactions for a total of $33.3 million over the same time period. The 110,000-square-foot property generated revenue of $7 million or $64 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The office building in Greenwich Village has 110,000 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 206 feet deep with a total lot size of 18,069 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C6-2 which allows for up to 6 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 6.02 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $27 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, $6,080 in ECB penalties, and $7,050 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 $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Greenwich Village, The bulk, or 24 percent of the 22.4 million square feet of commercial built space are specialty buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space. In sales, Greenwich Village has 3.3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $894.4 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 9th highest in Manhattan. For development, Greenwich Village has 2.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 13th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 13 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 13 commercial properties representing 260,482 square feet of the 699,870 square feet. The largest owner is William Gottlieb Real Estate, followed by Lawland Properties and then Cb Developers.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 57 percent of the 699,870 square feet of built space are office buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Philips International owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 247,394 square feet and a city-determined market value of $69.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $30 million in debt, borrowed from OceanFirst Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 50 percent of the 247,394 square feet of built space are retail properties, with office properties next occupying 44 percent of the space. The bulk, or 56 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 44 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lawland Properties owned at least two commercial properties with five residential units in New York City with 117,592 square feet and a city-determined market value of $32.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 94 percent of the 117,592 square feet of built space are office properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 6 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Rhodes Building Management owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 110,000 square feet and a city-determined market value of $27 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single office property. It is located in Manhattan.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Arnold Penner Real Estate owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 110,000 square feet and a city-determined market value of $27 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single office property. It is located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Legion Investment Group owned at least 12 commercial properties with 56 residential units in New York City with 252,821 square feet and a city-determined market value of $47.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $199.9 million in debt, borrowed from Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 83 percent of the 252,821 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 6 percent of the space. The bulk, or 96 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 4 percent of the space.

Correction: A prior version of this post incorrectly spelled Victor Sigoura’s last name.

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