Yousef Althkefati signs contract to buy Fordham Manor retail from Steven Chera, has $27M debt

Yousef Althkefati through the entity 203 East Fordham Acquisition LLC signed a contract to buy from Steven Chera and Camille Chera through the entity Fordham Chera Acquisition LLC the retail building (K2) at 203 East Fordham Road in Fordham Manor, Bronx. The building has $27 million in debt.
The deal closed on September 13, 2022 and was recorded on September 27, 2022. The property has 22,842 square feet of built space and 26,877 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 49,708 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data.
The signatory for Steven Chera and Camille Chera was Steven Chera and Camille Chera. The signatory for Yousef Althkefati was Yousef Althkefati. The memorandum notes theres is a “leasehold” between Chera’s company and the entity 203 East Fordham LLC

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Yousef Althkefati purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $14.4 million and sold one properties in one transactions for a total of $3.5 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Steven Chera purchased two properties in one transactions for a total of $5.5 million and sold three properties in three transactions for a total of $4.3 million over the same time period. The 22,842-square-foot property generated revenue of $2.3 million or $100 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 203 East Fordham Road parcel has frontage of 158 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 14,450 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-4 which allows for up to 3.4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 3.44 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $12.5 million.The most recent loan totaled $27 million and was provided by Republic First Bank on June 28, 2022.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $3,040 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 $5 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Fordham Manor, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 18.2 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Fordham Manor has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $119 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Fordham Manor has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 10th highest in Bronx. It had 872,871 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 11 of the 21 commercial properties representing 322,885 square feet of the 689,360 square feet. The largest owner is Jenel Management, followed by Steven Chera and then Harbor Group.
there are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 41 percent of the 615,636 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Steven Chera owned at least three commercial properties in New York City with 31,594 square feet and a city-determined market value of $13.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $51.6 million in debt, borrowed from Republic First Bank and Ladder Capital. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 72 percent of the 31,594 square feet of built space are retail properties, with industrial properties next occupying 28 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Yousef Althkefati owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 74,979 square feet and a city-determined market value of $9.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $19.8 million in debt, borrowed from Israel Discount Bank and Sterling National Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 50 percent of the 74,979 square feet of built space are retail properties, with industrial properties next occupying 50 percent of the space. The bulk, or 50 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 50 percent of the space.

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