Three weeks before 421a is set to expire, HUBB NYC picked up one of the few apartment buildings developed on the Lower East Side under the program for $64 million.
HUBB, led by president John McCarthy, bought the 78-unit rental building at 167-171 Chrystie Street from developer Be Aviv, the buyer told The Real Deal. The purchase price was $63.5 million.
HUBB head of acquisitions Jesse Terry wrote in an email that he considers the deal to be a rare opportunity, given the expiration of multifamily development tax break Affordable New York on June 15.
“In light of the expiration of the program in June, we do consider a Manhattan Affordable NY deal a unicorn,” he said. “The use of the program was much more common in the boroughs.”
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Be Aviv, run by Ben Harlev and Eyal Epstein, purchased a ground lease on the site in 2017 for $9.5 million and developed it into the 16-story luxury doorman building. A brokerage team of Joseph Friedman and Julian Perla at Blackshore Realty Group negotiated the off-market sale to HUBB.
HUBB has been active in the 421a space. Last year the company paid $105 million to buy a 141-unit Affordable New York building in Harlem at 56 West 125th Street.
Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out a plan earlier this year to replace 421a when it expires in June, but it now appears the program will expire without a replacement.