Witnick Real Estate pays $26.8M to Cheskel Jacobowitz for 43-unit walkup in Williamsburg
Witnick Real Estate Partners through the entity 525-535 Union Partners LLC paid $26.8 million to Cheskel Jacobowitz through the entity 525 Union Avenue Realty Associates LLC for the 43-unit residential walkup building (C1) at 525 Union Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on June 9, 2023 and was recorded on June 20, 2023. The property has 64,650 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $414 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 Cheskel Jacobowitz was Cheskel Jacobowitz. The signatory for Witnick Real Estate Partners was Isaac Abraham.
Prior sales and revenue
Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Witnick Real Estate Partners purchased 14 properties in 13 transactions for a total of $131 million and sold 10 properties in nine transactions for a total of $38.8 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Cheskel Jacobowitz had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Cheskel Jacobowitz, head officer and Kim Bowman, site manager. The business entity is Union Withers Llc. The 64,650-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.9 million or $29 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
The property
The residential walkup building with 43 residential units in Williamsburg has 64,650 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 175 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 15,550 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-2/R6 which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 2.43 times FAR for residential. The property has a 421A exemption that started in 2010 and expires in 2025. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $11.9 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 one housing violation and $400 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 block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the six commercial properties representing 126,538 square feet of the 138,678 square feet. The largest owner is Roman Catholic Church, followed by Goldi Jacobowitz and then Bernard Jacobowitz.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 32,804 square feet. The largest is a 23-unit, 29,684 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Joel Braver and filed by Joel Braver with plans filed March 15, 2018 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a two-unit, 3,120 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Ryan Garbo with plans filed September 25, 2015 and permitted December 7, 2016.
The majority, or 52 percent of the 138,678 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 27 percent of the space.
The seller
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Cheskel Jacobowitz owned at least four commercial properties with 65 residential units in New York City with 86,715 square feet and a city-determined market value of $16.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, all identified are walkup properties. They are all located in Brooklyn.
The buyer
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Witnick Real Estate Partners owned at least 34 commercial properties with 592 residential units in New York City with 386,697 square feet and a city-determined market value of $122.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $113.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as Dime Community Bank, Signature Bank, and Customers Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 82 percent of the 386,697 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 17 percent of the space. The bulk, or 71 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 29 percent of the space.
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