Ben Shaoul asking $80 million for Bloom 62, the former nursing home on Avenue B

[Image via Cushman & Wakefield]

Back in November, a PDF of a listing for Ben Shaoul's Bloom 62 on Avenue B and East Fifth Street arrived in our inbox. The asking price for the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation was listed at $73 million — all cash.

Maybe you should have picked it up then. There's a new listing as of yesterday at Cushman & Wakefield … and the asking price is now $80 million.

Here's what you get:

A 6-story, completely renovated, mixed-use doorman building located at the southwest corner of Avenue B and East 5th Street. The property features over 120’ of frontage on Avenue B and 143’ of frontage on East 5th Street. It consists of 81 residential units and 1 ground floor retail unit. All of the residential units are FM with an average in-place rent of $83/SF.

The retail is leased to The New Amsterdam School for $400,000 per year. Overall, the property is 98.77% occupied with a gross annual income of $5,155,768. Amenities of the building include a fitness room, landscaped courtyard, and a rooftop entertainment deck featuring outdoor showers, grills, and bar-sinks. The residential units are all in spectacular condition and each has their own washer & dryer, individual temperature control, and high-end finishes through out.

This is an excellent opportunity for an investor to purchase a high cash flowing, low maintenance asset with significant upside in one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Manhattan.

Shaoul bought the place for $25.5 million from a family trust made up of the estates of Jacob W. Friedman and Sol Henkind in December 2011.

Cabrini closed for good on June 30, 2012. The 240-bed Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The center opened in 1993 and served 240 patients and employed nearly 300 people.

As for Shaoul, he's off to luxurify other corners of the neighborhood.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

A look at the 'Hip young crowd planting roots at Bloom 62'

Ben Shaoul looks to make a whole lot of money converting nursing home into high-end housing

Ben Shaoul is selling Bloom 62 for $73 million — all cash!

Ben Shaoul is selling Bloom 62 for $73 million — all cash!

[EVG file photo]

Back in January, the Post reported that Bloom 62 on Avenue B and East Fifth Street — the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — "is being shown to investors and expected to sell for roughly $70 million."

At the time, we never spotted any listings for the building that Ben Shaoul bought for $25.5 million from a family trust made up of the estates of Jacob W. Friedman and Sol Henkind in December 2011.

Now a PDF for the building is making the rounds … it arrived in our inbox. From that listing:









All you need is $73 million. All cash.

Cabrini closed for good on June 30, 2012. The 240-bed Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The center opened in 1993 and served 240 patients and employed nearly 300 people.

Bloom 62 started renting in May 2013. Prices top out at $7,600 for a four-bedroom apartment. The building has quickly earned a reputation for throwing the most disruptive rooftop parties.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Ben Shaoul looks to make a whole lot of money converting nursing home into high-end housing

Ben Shaoul looks to make a whole lot of money converting nursing home into high-end housing

[EVG file photo]

In a discussion on "The Stoler Report" last summer, developer Ben Shaoul, president of Magnum Real Estate Group, mentioned that he was looking to sell his current "conversion of a nursing home" in a year or two.

Apparently the time is here. The Post reports that Bloom 62 on Avenue B and East Fifth Street — the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — "is being shown to investors and expected to sell for roughly $70 million."

In December 2011, Shaoul and company purchased Cabrini for $25.5 million from a family trust made up of the estates of Jacob W. Friedman and Sol Henkind. Cabrini closed for good on June 30, 2012.

The 240-bed Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The center opened in 1993 and served 240 patients and employed nearly 300 employees.

At Bloom 62, four-bedroom apartments for upwards of $7,600 ... in the upscale dorm building whose amenities include roof deck with showers, Weber grills and a yoga room.

The Post also mentions that "one retail unit in the process of being leased." The rumor is a 7-Eleven. The corner space will be home to the New Amsterdam School, according to signs along Avenue B.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Q-and-A with Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare

Memories from Avenue B

Bloom 62 is a new luxury building on Avenue B at East Fifth Street that features a landscaped roof deck with showers, Weber grills and a "teak sundeck" for apartment dwellers paying upwards of $7,600... the building was formerly the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation ... and the American Nursing Home.

This development brought back some memories for artist Julius Klein, who lived next door for 11 years.

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For many years, (’82 –’93) living at 60 Ave. B, Apt 2B, between 4th & 5th St., late at night, while laying in bed, I would hear wailings coming from the then named American Nursing Home, across the loading dock. It was a regular, nightly utterance — “arolegemmyt yato me air”, like hearing a cubistic coyote in the distant desert.



Again, another night lying in bed, say, 3:45 am, “aerol, aerol, osh oshh –mtwon”.

One night, when well oiled on mushrooms, it became clear to me.

“HAiRrrrOLDD, ET E OT O ERE”!!!
“HAROLD, GET ME OUT OF HERE”!

In the 80ies and into the 90ies, a grand yearly 4th of July party was held in the back seating area behind the loading dock. It was mainly a party for the staff, as the band hired yearly, was a sort of funk jazz R&B ensemble.



The old folks would be wheeled out and afflicted by the way too loud, amplified sound. You could see them pushing their arms forward, as if to push the offending sound away, as they then covered their ears, the staff trying to sell them on the musical offerings such as “Grooving, on a sunny afternoon, La La La.”

At some point, the lead singer, the MC, without any sense of irony, posed the question. “Does anyone here know who Old Blue Eyes is?” the one song in their set approaching era appropriateness for the audience.

After a few moments the band jumped into Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” — “And now the end is hear, and so I face the final curtain”.

It just felt, from my 2nd story window, a bit cruel ... and a bit funny too.

And so it went, and so it goes ...

Ben Shaoul plans to sell Bloom 62 'in a year or two'

We were watching "The Stoler Report" — the real-estate roundtable program on Channel 75 — the other evening... Developer Ben Shaoul, president of Magnum Real Estate Group, was one of the guests discussing the residential market in Manhattan and the boroughs... it was a fairly sobering discussion on everything from end loans for condos ... debt yields... capital gains...

At roughly the 20-minute mark, host Michael Stoler asked Shaoul about his preference for short-term lending ... Well, you know, it depends on the asset and who the partner is and what the plan is for the asset, etc.

While he didn't mention it by name (Bloom 62, the new luxury residences that replaced the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on East Fifth Street and Avenue B), Shaoul mentioned his current "conversion of a nursing home."

And?

"We're going to look to sell the asset in a year or two," he said.

This type of property, he said, was attractive to the institutions who buy this caliber of asset.

In December 2011, Shaoul and company purchased Cabrini for $25.5 million from a family trust made up of the estates of Jacob W. Friedman and Sol Henkind. Negotiations to resell the building to a for-profit nursing home operator reportedly fell apart in early January 2012. Cabrini closed for good on June 30, 2012.

The 240-bed Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The center opened in 1993 and served 240 patients and employed nearly 300 employees.

Bloom 62 is currently renting — prices range from $3,450/month for a one-bedroom unit to $7,600 for a four-bedroom apartment. The listed amenities include 24-hour doorman, gym and exercise facility with weight room, secured landscaped courtyard entrance, deck with showers, Weber grills and teak sun-deck, and yoga room with music system.

You can watch this episode of "The Stoler Report," taped on May 30, right here.

Pricing for apartments at former Cabrini Center revealed; 4-bedroom unit for $7,600 at Bloom 62

Several units from Bloom 62, developer Ben Shaoul's luxury apartment building that replaced the former Cabrini Center on East Fifth Street and Avenue B, appeared on Streeteasy this past weekend. There are six listings, ranging from a one-bedroom unit for $3,450 all the way up to a four-bedroom unit for $7,600.

The listings all basically showcase the same amenities. Here's the one for the four-bedroom pad:

Brand New Listing in Pristine New Building. Huge 4 Bedrooms with Tons of Closet Space. Amazing Deal. This Apartment will not last!

Apartment Details:

-Brand New Renovations
-Very Spacious Layout
-Queen Size Bedrooms
-Beautiful Spa Style Marble Bathroom
-Wide Plank Hardwood Floors
- Closet Space!

Kitchen Features:
-Chef’s Kitchen
-Plenty of Counter Space / Cabinet Space
-Stainless Steel Appliances (Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Microwave)
-Granite Counter top

WASHER & DRYER

New Doorman bldg Features:
AMENITIES

24 hour doorman
Gym & exercise facility with weight room
Secured landscaped courtyard entrance
Standard storage
Laundry room
Bicycle storage
Landscaped roof deck with showers, Weber grills, & teak sun-deck
Yoga room with music system
Handicap accessible

According to Streeteasy, the apartments are available starting June 14. The previous tenant here was the 240-bed Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — that provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The center opened in 1993 and served 240 patients and employed nearly 300 employees. The facility closed last June.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here's Bloom 62, the luxury apartments replacing the Cabrini Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Weekend recap: 'Bloom 62' announces itself at the former Cabrini Center

In case you missed our post on Saturday... the luxury apartment building that is replacing the former Cabrini Center on East Fifth Street and Avenue B has a name: Bloom 62 ... "The right place to plant your roots."

A banner ad went up Friday. And there's now a website with this marketing copy:

It sounds impossible: a fully-appointed luxury building has sprouted in the beating heart of the East Village. A 24-hour doorman greets you before work in the morning, after returning from a cafe in the evening and when heading out to Tompkins Square Park on the weekends. You'll have every modern convenience, from a gym to a roof deck to in-unit laundry, on the same streets where names like The Ramones, Warhol and Hendrix and [sic] paved the history of this neighborhood for years to come.

Reader reaction included:

Woo Generation said...
I don't know what Ramones and those other things are. How close is 13th Step?

Anonymous said...
I know someone who died in there. I could never live there. They look like prison cells with windows and rooms brightened with Photoshop.

Read the rest of the post and reader comments here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here's Bloom 62, the luxury apartments replacing the Cabrini Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Here's Bloom 62, the luxury apartments replacing the Cabrini Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation

[Photo via @zmack]

So, if you were to turn a former nursing home into a luxury apartment building... how would you market that new space? A lot of people have been asking that question since developer Ben Shaoul purchased the building that housed the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on East Fifth Street and Avenue B.

Now we know.

Please meet Bloom 62 — "The right place to plant your roots."

A banner ad went up yesterday on the East Fifth Street side of the building. And there's now a website with a few details and renderings about the rentals.



And here we are:

It sounds impossible: a fully-appointed luxury building has sprouted in the beating heart of the East Village. A 24-hour doorman greets you before work in the morning, after returning from a cafe in the evening and when heading out to Tompkins Square Park on the weekends. You'll have every modern convenience, from a gym to a roof deck to in-unit laundry, on the same streets where names like The Ramones, Warhol and Hendrix and [sic] paved the history of this neighborhood for years to come.

Not sure why this sounds impossible. After all, Ben himself created a fully-appointed luxury building not too long ago with the A-Building on East 13th Street. (Maybe Hendrix didn't pave 13th Street with history?)

Anyway! The listed amenities include 24-hour doorman, gym and exercise facility with weight room, secured landscaped courtyard entrance, deck with showers, Weber grills and teak sun-deck, and yoga room with music system.

There's no pricing for the apartments just yet.

The nonprofit, 240-bed Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The center opened in 1993 and served 240 patients and employed nearly 300 employees. The facility closed last June.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Q-and-A with Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare

About the swimming pool rumor at the former Cabrini Center

Last week, some neighbors adjacent to the former Cabrini Center were hearing rumors of an outdoor pool at the incoming luxury apartments on East Fifth Street and Avenue B... perhaps what would be the end product of all that jackhammering out back.

However! A resident spoke to the construction manager at the site of the former health care facility for elderly patients ... According to the manager, they are putting in an "at grade" recreation area, with benches and a little lawn/garden.

Per the resident: "We'll see."

Previously.

Will the luxury apartment building at the former Cabrini Center include an outdoor pool?

Well, that's the rumor anyway... some neighbors adjacent to the property are convinced of this development here behind East Fifth Street and Avenue B... perhaps the end product of all that jackhammering out back here.

The former health care facility for elderly patients continues to be converted into luxury residences via developer Ben Shaoul. DOB permits show 81 units here, including a rooftop "public recreation space" as well as retail space.

Previously.

Here is the rest of the former Cabrini Center (aka 'The Neapolitan'?)

On Friday morning, we noted that workers had removed the scaffolding and construction netting from the former Cabrini Center on Avenue B and East Fifth Street ...

By the end of Friday, the East Fifth Street side was free of all that as well. And here's how the incoming luxury residences look ...

We were unsure if this was the final paint job, dubbed by commenter RD as The Neapolitan (in honor of the ice cream).

No word on what the actual building name will be...

Flashback: When 72 Avenue B was a luxurious 1,750-seat theater

On the topic of the new luxury apartment building on Avenue B and East Fifth Street ... here's a relevant EVG repost from Sept. 28, 2009...

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You'll recognize Fifth Street and Avenue B here...


But until 1957, it was a Loew's theater...


According to Cinema Treasures:

Loew's Avenue B is part of one of the great rags-to-riches stories of showbiz history. Movie mogul Marcus Loew erected it on the very site of the tenement building where he was born. Needless to say, his birthplace was demolished to make way for the luxurious 1,750-seat theatre, which was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and first opened on January 8, 1913, with vaudeville as its main attraction and movies thrown in just as fillers.

The Avenue B was the top Loew's house on the Lower East Side until the mid-1920s, when the circuit took over the Commodore on Second Avenue, which was a much busier area for entertainment and shopping. The Avenue B was reduced to playing movies at the end of their Loew's circuit run, and remained so until its closure around 1957-58.

As Cinema Treasures commenter Warren G. Harris noted:

The theatre cost $800,000 to build. In his opening night speech, Marcus Loew said "This is the most pretentious of the houses on our string, because my better judgment was over-balanced by my sentimentalism and my longing to do something better here than I ever did before." According to corporate histories, the Avenue B was never successful, but Loew's kept it running for decades as a memorial to its founder, who was born on the spot.

Top photo via.

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Postscript. Knickerbocker Village has this still (circa 1967) from its days as an abandoned theater.

Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation opened in 1992... and operated here until it lost its lease last summer ... after an unnamed family trust sold the building.

Scaffolding comes down on Avenue B side of the former Cabrini Center

A tipster let us know that workers had removed the scaffolding and construction netting from the former Cabrini Center on Avenue B and East Fifth Street yesterday afternoon ...

... currently being converted into apartments... not sure what the final color scheme will be. But for now...

There are currently two retail spaces available here... as well as some bad karma, as some neighbors put it.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cabrini Center patients out by the end of today; closes for good June 30

2 retail spaces available at the former Cabrini Center on Avenue B and East Fifth Street

Here are two photos from this week showing the progress of the former Cabrini Center's conversion to an 80-unit residential building on Avenue B and East Fifth Street...

[Bobby Williams]

[Dave on 7th]

Meanwhile, here's more information about the two retail spaces that will be available in the former nursing home...

There are two spaces of comparable size available (listing is here — PDF) ...

There isn't any mention of rent. A few details per the listing:

Comments:
• New retail space being redeveloped at the base of an 80-unit residential building.
• Rising income levels.
• Growing residential population.
• All quality uses considered.

A lot of things rising and growing around here ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cabrini Center patients out by the end of today; closes for good June 30

Q-and-A with Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare

Reader report: Mysterious late-night activity at the former Cabrini Center

[Bobby Williams]

As you know, work continues on converting the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation into residential apartments on Avenue B and East Street via developer Ben Shaoul.

Meanwhile, a tipster notes some late-night activity behind the building, where the construction staging is taking place. The tipster notes that construction usually takes place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. (and with permit, on Saturdays). Recently though, a few workers returned at 8-9 p.m. Now, a few more developments have made our tipster curious.

To the tipster:

To begin, they've covered the gate with plastic sheets (perhaps to keep out the wind) but also obscuring the site from any onlookers from outside on the street.

Of more interest though, there have also been several unmarked white vans after hours. Most suspicious was [Tuesday night], because this was the latest and largest vehicle I've seen yet. I heard the bang of the truck gate opening at 2:30 am.
There was a large unmarked white truck with a few non-uniformed men in dark clothes.
There was also a red truck and a beige minivan — one of the vehicles belonging to a man in a white shirt.

They were in and out in less than half an hour quickly moving garbage bags. This is odd because there is a large dumpster right beside the truck that could have been used or a garbage disposal service could have been hired. Perhaps it's just my imagination and there is nothing to hide and its merely waste materials that need to be specially delivered to the dump. Yet its still suspicious that they would do this after hours — especially after midnight.

Any theories...?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cabrini Center patients out by the end of today; closes for good June 30

A look inside the under-renovation former Cabrini Center on East Fifth Street

Here's a look inside the main entrance of the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, which closed at the end of June.

Workers are converting the space here on East Fifth Street at Avenue B to residential use. And, as you can see, workers have removed just about everything.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cabrini Center patients out by the end of today; closes for good June 30

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Q-and-A with Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare

There goes the neighborhood... again (again)

Spotted on the plywood at the under-renovation Cabrini Center on Avenue B and East Fifth Street...

Someone is selling this supply cabinet at the former Cabrini Center

Spotted over at the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on Avenue B and East Fifth Street ... where renovations are under way to convert the building into residential use...

Workers have been clearing out the building... perhaps instead of trashing the items, someone thought he or she could make a few dollars... curious who is selling this behind the fence... no one was around to ask at the time... the plastic storage bins on top of the supply cabinet are also for sale for $5.

Sidewalk shed arrives for former Cabrini Center

A reader alerted us this morning that the sidewalk shed would be going up outside the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on East Fifth Street and Avenue B ... currently under renovation to residential use...

Cabrini Center patients out by the end of today; closes for good June 30

Following up on our post from yesterday about the awning coming down at the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on Avenue B and East Fifth Street ...

We asked Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare, for more details on the closing. Via email yesterday afternoon, she noted that Cabrini took down the awning (and other signage) because they were worried that the new owner "might handle it badly."


[Via Twitter]

As for the closure: "All of the residents will be moved by the end of this week, and then the rest of the employees," she said. "We will turn it over [to the new owner] on the 30th. We had a closing liturgy and reception last Friday."

The last resident is moving out today. The man, a former garment worker for Montgomery Ward who has lived on the Lower East Side Side since 1953, will be transferred to a facility in Borough Park in southwest Brooklyn.

There isn't room at a facility anywhere closer. He's on several waiting lists. In a message last night, his daughter, who grew up with her mom and dad on Clinton and Delancey, said that "staff and families have been crying all day. I'm so angry right now."

As previously reported, developer Ben Shaoul, the building's new owner, will convert the health care facility for elderly patients into residences, either condos or rentals. Plans to sell the Center to a for-profit operator never materialized.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Q-and-A with Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare