Slowdown in NYC investment sales

(Google Maps)
(Google Maps)

After weeks of robust sales, the middle of the investment market — properties that trade for between $10 million and $40 million — cooled considerably at the end of February.

A mere seven such deals were recorded in the last two weeks of the month. Columbia University acquired a single-room occupancy building near its main campus in Morningside Heights, an industrial property in Greenpoint sold to private equity firm Sitex for a dramatic markup from its 2012 purchase price, and Elie Pariente’s EMP Capital Group picked up a Soho property.

Manhattan was the busiest borough, with five sales, while Brooklyn and the Bronx had one each. Below are more details on all seven deals that hit city records in the last two weeks of February:

Sitex Group bought a 17,000-square-foot industrial building on 98,250 square feet of land at 360 Kingsland Avenue near the Long Island and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for $30 million. The seller, Joseph Rizzuto, bought the property for just $3.7 million in 2012.

Columbia University bought a vacant, 36,580-square-foot, single-room-occupancy building with 135 units at 611 West 112th Street in Morningside Heights for $25.7 million. Mark Hersh sold the building, most recently known as the Colonial House, which he purchased in 1984.

Elie Pariente’s EMP Capital Group bought a 18,400-square-foot, mixed-use building at 149 Spring Street in Soho for $17 million. Joseph Danzger and Lisa Schiff sold the eight-story building.

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The nonprofit Chinese-American Planning Council bought a 138,000-square-foot, 156-unit senior housing complex at 50 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side for $16.1 million. The seller was the Chinatown Planning Council, another nonprofit. A new 330,000-square-foot project dubbed the Broome Street Development is located on the same block at 55 Norfolk Street.

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Amir Shriki’s Aya bought a 25-unit apartment building at 240 East 90th Street in Yorkville for $14.9 million. Sackman Enterprises sold the 21,000-square-foot building.

Joel Wagschal bought a 25,920-square-foot retail building at 2241 Westchester Avenue in Westchester Square, the Bronx, for $12.9 million through a limited liability company. Joseph Buoninfante sold the two-story building through an LLC.

An affiliate of Felix Living bought a 30-unit, mixed-use building at 145 Avenue C in the East Village for $11.6 million. Adam Semler signed for the buyer. Steven Gautier’s Willowick Properties sold the 18,800-square-foot building.