I-Sales Recap: East Village Rental Portfolio Trades for $29M

The city saw no particular end-of-year flurry of investment sales as the calendar flipped from 2022 to 2023, but dealmakers did trade a handful of mid-market properties in the five boroughs last week.

Six transactions involving commercial properties valued between $10 million and $40 million hit city records last week. Manhattan had three deals, Brooklyn two and Queens one. Below is more information on each transaction, ranked by dollar amount:

1. Entities tied to landlord Nuchem Obstfeld bought a five-building portfolio near Tompkins Square Park in the East Village for $29 million. The mixed-use properties — 413 East 9th Street, 438 East 9th Street, 440 East 9th Street, 141 Avenue A and 153 Avenue A — combine for 31,000 square feet, 68 residential units and seven commercial units. Obstfeld signed for the buyer and Jonah Kriger signed for the selling entities. The portfolio was last sold in 1999 for an undisclosed amount.

2. Steve Roth’s Vornado Realty Trust sold two Soho properties at 484-486 Broadway to entities linked to Rod Feldman’s Tri-Star Equities for $23.5 million. Vornado had sought $26.5 million for the six-story buildings, according to a since-expired listing. Built in 1900 and anchored by retail tenants J. Crew and Madewell, the buildings combine for 21,000 square feet, including upstairs office space. They were last sold in 2004 for $14 million.

Vornado has been trimming its Manhattan retail portfolio, citing the negative impact of the pandemic, since last year.

3. An entity tied to property manager Jordan Cooper LLC sold a 60-unit apartment building at 108-50 71st Avenue in Forest Hills for $18.7 million to a Rockville Centre-based LLC. Built in 1950, the six-story spans 63,000 square feet and was last sold in 1983 for an undisclosed amount.

4. An LLC linked to Japanese developer Kanden Realty bought a pair of apartment buildings at 174 and 176 East 85th Street on the Upper East Side for $16.4 million from investor Akio Hatano. The five-story buildings date to 1910 and consist of 40 units across 20,600 square feet. They were last sold in 2018 for $16.5 million.

5. Triple L Realty sold an office building at 470 Flushing Avenue on the border of South Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant for $10.7 million to an entity tied to Big Dream Developers CEO Asher Berkowitz. Built in 1931, the five-story building spans 22,700 square feet. It was last sold in 1982 for an undisclosed amount.

6. Brookfield Properties sold a development site containing landmarked townhouses at 182-188 Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn for $10 million to an entity connected to investor Chaskel Landau. The early-19th-century buildings, known as the Duffield Street houses, combine for 10,500 square feet. Though landmarked, the buildings were marketed for redevelopment, according to Brownstoner, which reported that the buyer intends to maintain the historic structures but convert them to affordable housing.