New York real estate investors Alex Adjmi and Ike Chehebar are in contract to buy a Greenwich Village commercial condominium owned by the Children’s Aid Society for $3.3 million, and then convert the space to a Sephardic Jewish community center (note: correction appended).
The group of investors formed a non-profit to buy the unit and then spend an additional $1 million to rebuild the three-story condo, located at 177 Sullivan Street between Bleecker and West Houston streets, for the new use, said Jonathan Nachmani, who is involved with the transaction and is a vice president of the investment firm Jackson Group.
The group is currently developing plans to file with the city’s Department of Buildings.
Adjmi is president of A&H Acquisitions, Chehebar is CEO of the Jackson Group. The investors are part of the influential Syrian Jewish community that has deep roots in real estate, apparel and retail businesses.
The future center in the 6,000-square foot community-facility condo (which includes additional basement space) is targeting students at nearby universities such as New York University, Touro College and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, but will not be limited to students.
“It is in the center of NYU, New School, and Cardozo law, which boast a substantial Sephardic population whose religious and cultural needs are underserved,” Nachmani said.
The contract was signed Jan. 20 and is set to close in June, Nachmani said. The Jewish center will have a synagogue, banquet facilities and a learning center, and is expected to be ready by the High Holy Days in September, he said.
The Children’s Aid Society bought the commercial condo (which has the address 177 Sullivan Street although it is part of the seven-story residential condo building with the address 175 Sullivan Street) from the building’s developers, in October 2005 for $1.88 million, property records show.
This is the second recent sale for the Children’s Aid Society, which provides health, education, adoption and foster care to children and families in New York City. The charity voted to put its three Greenwich Village properties at 177, 209 and 219 Sullivan Street on the market in late 2010 to focus its attention on higher-need areas such as in the South Bronx and Washington Heights. Cushman & Wakefield brokers Helen Hwang and Nat Rockett listed the buildings and brokered the transactions.
Last July, Broad Street paid the Children’s Aid Society $33 million for 209-219 Sullivan Street and plans to develop a condo building there.
The charity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.