Ladder Capital Buys Harlem Buildings After Emerald Default

Ladder Capital bought four mixed-use Harlem buildings out of auction, having previously foreclosed on them. The sale price was $20 million.

Isaac Kassirer’s Emerald Equity shelled out $40 million for the properties in 2019 and used a $32 million loan from Ladder to fund the purchase, which was made just before the state sank the value of rent-stabilized buildings with a new law. Emerald defaulted on the loan a year later, and Ladder moved to foreclose.

All four properties — 1917 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, 120 West 116th Street, 110 West 116th Street and 110 Nicholas Avenue — were built in the early 1900s. They combine for 23 floors, 95,000 square feet, 82 residential units and 15 commercial units.

Ladder’s purchase of the Harlem buildings was the highlight of last week’s transactions in the middle market, defined as sales between $10 million and $40 million. The rest are listed below, ranked by dollar amount.

Son Dinh Tran paid $40 million for a mixed-use property in Midtown Manhattan. To fund the purchase and apparently planned improvements, he took out several loans from Ready Capital including a $2.5 million mortgage, a $9 million acquisition loan and a $52 million building loan.

The property, at 841 7th Avenue, was built in 1923 and has 15 floors, 85,000 square feet, 54 residential units and five commercial units. The seller is Rubin Schron’s Cammeby's International Group. The property last traded in 2002.

Son Dinh Tran was in the news in February after being sued by the city for leasing space to unlicensed marijuana retailers.
Sioni Group shelled out $26.8 million for an office building in Midtown at 6 East 45th Street. The property, constructed in 1932, features 19 floors, 79,000 square feet and 35 units. The seller is Silk and Halpern. Payman Yadidi signed for the buyer and Richard Halpern signed for the seller. The building last traded in 1986.
Hedge fund manager Louis Bacon paid $17 million for two West Village townhouses from landlord Kenneth Rosenblum. The properties — 133 and 135 West 13th Street — were built in 1890 and 1845, respectively. There are six floors, 13 residential units and two commercial units between the pair.

A group of investors that included art dealer Max Dolgicer bought the two townhouses in 2008 for $9.2 million, but in 2011 Village Realty Holdings bought the loan on the properties and moved to foreclose after the owners filed for bankruptcy. Rosenblum purchased the buildings in 2017 for $13.5 million.
HELP USA paid $17 million for a development site in Mount Eden that will be the future home of a 195-unit homeless shelter. The charity took out several loans from Wilmington Trust National Association: a $95 million building loan, a $26 million project loan and a $19.9 million acquisition loan.

Located at 1298 Inwood Avenue, the lot was previously host to an auto repair shop. David Sjauw filed applications on behalf of Court Square Real Estate for construction of the shelter last year, but they have yet to be approved. The seller is Abraham Podolak, who acquired the site in 1998.
RYCO Capital purchased two commercial condominium units in SoHo for $13.2 million from seller Valerie Berk. They are in the building at 4141 West Broadway, which has four floors, three units and 16,000 square feet. The current tenants are Paz LIfestyle Pop-Up and Lush Art Agency. James Ryan signed on behalf of RYCO.
Lazar Waldman purchased a hotel development project in Bedford-Stuyvesant out of bankruptcy for $13.2 million. Located at 1325 and 1337 Atlantic Avenue, the two neighboring lots combine for 57,000 square feet. Lazar Kleinberg was awarded permits in 2020 for the development of a 151-unit hotel. PincusCo first reported that the sale was out of bankruptcy. The lots last traded in 2019 for $10.8 million.
Marx Realty sold a 50 percent stake in a SoHo retail building to an unidentified buyer for $12.9 million. Located at 92 Prince Street, the one-unit, 6,000-square-foot property is currently host to Nespresso Boutique SoHo. Craig Deitelzweig signed for the seller. The buyer is listed as 92 Prince Street LLC. The property was listed by JLL.
The owner of Flamingo Furniture in Sunset Park has sold its store to DII Stores for $10.4 million. Located at 5105-5111 Fifth Avenue, the property was built in 1931 and features three floors over 21,000 square feet. Albert Mitrani, the owner, signed for Flamingo. Morris Dweck signed for DII Stores. The property last traded in 2003 for $1.8 million. It’s unclear if Flamingo will remain the tenant.