Yaakov Geldzahler pays $4.9M for 16-unit dev project in East Flatbush

Yaakov Geldzahler through the entity 2700 Church Realty LLC paid $4.9 million to Sonya Lorge Levine through the entity Belbar Associates, L.L.C. for the retail building (K2) at 2708-2716 Church Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and retail building (K2) at 2700-2704 Church Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 16-unit, 16,863-square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Yanky Geldzahler with plans filed August 31, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.

The deal closed on June 28, 2022 and was recorded on July 28, 2022. The two properties have 13,716 square feet of built space and 25,543 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 39,283 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $359 and the price per buildable square foot is $125 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 Sonya Lorge Levine was Sonya Lorge Levine. The signatory for Yaakov Geldzahler was Yaakov Geldzahler.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 2708-2716 Church Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, Pincusco has no record that the buyer Yaakov Geldzahler had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Sonya Lorge Levine had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The two properties with a total of 13,716 square feet of built space generated revenue of $274,360 per year or $20 per square foot. The sale price per square foot was $359.

The property

The 2708-2716 Church Avenue parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 147 feet deep with a total lot size of 12,415 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 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 properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $5,600 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In East Flatbush, the bulk, or 32 percent of the 42.5 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space. In sales, East Flatbush has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $186.8 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, East Flatbush has 2 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 8th highest in Brooklyn. It had 2.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 5 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 2708-2716 Church Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the 28 commercial properties representing 106,034 square feet of the 250,387 square feet. The largest owner is Joseph Popack, followed by Bawabeh Brothers and then Triple C Capital Group. There are four active new building construction projects totaling 52,790 square feet. The largest is a 22-unit, 15,165-square-foot R-2 building developed by Isaac Stern with plans filed January 22, 2016 and permitted February 24, 2017. The second largest is a 10-unit, 7,780-square-foot R-2 building developed by Joel Klepner with plans filed May 4, 2016 and it has not been permitted yet.

the majority, or 42 percent of the 250,387 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Yaakov Geldzahler owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 44,784 square feet and a city-determined market value of $8.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $23 million in debt, borrowed from Spencer Savings Bank and Popular Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 51 percent of the 44,784 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with elevator properties next occupying 44 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

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