[
Via Stone Street Properties]
The large residential building between Avenue A and Avenue B arrived on the market yesterday.
Per the Massey Knakal
listing:
Standing six stories tall, the building encompasses a total of 43,520 gross square feet and currently contains 48 residential units, 1 commercial unit and 1 professional unit. Currently, 27 units are rent regulated, 21 are free market, and one free market unit is occupied by the building's super. The building possesses substantial upside potential as it is still approximately 56% rent stabilized.
Currently, the building is renting at an average of $39.00 per net square foot with the RS units averaging approximately $19.00 per net square foot. These figures illustrate that there is still a tremendous amount of additional revenue available to capture. Over time new ownership should have the opportunity to turn over some or all of the remaining stabilized units, convert them to free market apartments and increase their annual gross revenue by over $1,000,000
The property is part of "The East Side Elevator Portfolio," a five-building multifamily package available for $150 million. This address is going for $38.5 million. The buyer will become the tenants' third landlord in seven years.
In 2008, a contentious battle broke out between longtime tenants and the building's new owners, Icon Realty. In September 2008,
the Post reported that several rent-stabilized tenants were fighting to keep "their East Village neighborhood affordable by turning down buyout offers of up to $125,000." (Bob Arihood covered the story first
here and
here.) The residents also accused Icon of harassment.
Per the article:
The tenants complained that the landlord recently changed an electronic lock on the building’s front door to a more difficult standard version as a ploy to send them to an Icon representative looking for help. The rep would then use the opportunity to pitch the buyout, the tenants said.
“They want to buy people out and renovate the apartment, and then they want to flip the building,” said Heather Gradowski, who pays less than $700 a month for her one-bedroom apartment.
In the fall of 2011, Stone Street Properties bought the five-building portfolio for $90 million from Icon,
according to The Real Deal. (At this time Stone Street renamed the buildings; No. 176 became "The Jesse.")
According to
public records, Icon paid $14 million for No. 176 in August 2007.
Did someone say something about flipping the building?
