Tech investor Arthur Becker is now the proud owner of three adjacent townhouses on Sullivan Street in Soho in exchange for his stake in the neighboring condominium development.
Becker, a quiet backer of New York City real estate who invested in 10 Sullivan Street, assumed ownership of 30, 40 and 50 Sullivan Street, according to public records filed Monday. The 6,500-square-foot townhouses are among four homes that Robert Gladstone’s Madison Equities [TRDataCustom] and Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group developed in conjunction with the boat-shaped, 16-story condo building.
“I had invested in that project and this is what I got for my investment,” Becker told The Real Deal.
Becker declined to disclose how much he invested in the project, but data from Real Capital Analytics show that he provided $15 million in preferred equity plus a $5 million mortgage for the project.
Documents filed Monday offer contradictory transfer prices for the three townhouses, with one set of figures adding up to $22 million and another set adding up to $29.4 million. (The discrepancy could reflect the difference between Becker’s initial investment and the current value of the property.)
Becker said he did not make additional investments in the project in exchange for the houses, other than roughly $4 million in improvements to one of the townhouses, where he plans to live.
According to property records, Madison Equities bought the site for the townhouses — then known as 140 Sixth Avenue — for $30.5 million in 2012 and subsequently divided the lot into separate parcels. In September 2014, the developer received approval to build four four-story townhouses on the site.
The townhouses, which are not yet complete, will be finished within 90 days, Becker said. He plans to live in one and will sell or lease the other two. Because they have larger backyards, he said, they’ll be priced slightly higher than 20 Sullivan — the one townhouse Becker did not claim. The property at 20 Sullivan hit the market in March 2015 asking $20.8 million. After a price chop to $18.5 million, the house was taken off the market in June, according to StreetEasy.
Becker, who made his fortune in the tech industry, has deployed $500 million into New York real estate through his Atlantic Investors LLC, according to RCA.
Of Madison and PMG, Becker said: “I think they did a beautiful thing on a weird piece of property.” In addition to maximizing the height of the condo building, they created four townhouses on “one of the most charming streets in Soho,” he said. “That’s why I was excited to own them.”
In addition to 10 Sullivan, Becker has also invested alongside JDS Development Group, Property Markets Group and AmBase Corp. at 111 West 57th Street.