I-sales roundup: RJ Block buys Harlem mixed-use portfolio

9 mid-market commercial property deals in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens

RJBlock Properties' Rodney "RJ Block" Jackson and 2714-2718 Frederick Douglass Boulevard (RJBlock Properties, Apartments.com, Getty Images)
RJBlock Properties' Rodney "RJ Block" Jackson and 2714-2718 Frederick Douglass Boulevard (RJBlock Properties, Apartments.com, Getty Images)

After a quiet first week of August, investment sales of mid-market commercial properties in New York City picked up last week, highlighted by an 11-building portfolio in Harlem trading hands. Other sales involved the site of an abandoned hotel project in Downtown Brooklyn and a Queens industrial property that sold for six times more than its 2005 price.

Nine transactions involving commercial properties valued between $10 million and $40 million hit city records last week. Four were in Queens, three were in Brooklyn and two were in Manhattan. Below is more information on each one, ranked by dollar amount.

1. Entities connected to KLM Equities sold an assemblage of 11 mixed-use buildings in Harlem for $32 million to RJ Block Properties. The properties are 2470 Eighth Avenue, 2714 and 2718 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, 271 West 144 Street, 203 West 118th Street, and 1941, 1968, 1972 and 1979 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. A Newmark team including Evan Layne and Jean Celestin brokered the deal. The buildings, all more than 100 years old, have 185 residential units totaling more than 201,000 square feet. The portfolio also includes almost 5,000 square feet of retail.

2. An entity tied to SB Development bought a pair of industrial buildings at 29-16 and 29-24 40th Avenue in Long Island City for $19 million from E Home Real Estate LLC. Steve Cheung signed for the seller. The warehouses, which span almost 29,000 square feet, will be demolished to make way for an 11-story mixed-use development with 103 residential units, New York Yimby reported. The properties last sold for $18 million in 2015.

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3. An entity connected to Brookfield Properties bought a Cubesmart storage facility at 1956 Atlantic Avenue in Crown Heights for $17.9 million from an entity tied to Pennsylvania-based Poole Anderson Construction. The two-floor warehouse was built in 2018 and spans 58,600 square feet. The property last sold for $3.7 million in 2015.

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4. Mill Management sold a pair of six-story apartment buildings at 326 and 328 East Fourth Street in Alphabet City for $16.8 million to an entity connected to Targo Capital Partners. The buildings have 20 residential units across 17,200 square feet. The properties last sold for $20 million in 2015.

5. An entity connected to New Jersey-based Orbach Group sold a Coney Island apartment building portfolio for $14.3 million to Avenue W Holdings LLC. Mordechai Piller signed for the buyer. The properties are 2314 and 2302 West 12th Street, 2315 West 13th Street, and 2322 and 2328 West 11th Street. The 17 buildings have 51 residential units across 57,400 square feet. The portfolio last sold for $15.5 million in 2016.

6. An entity tied to Slate Property Group sold non-residential vacant land at 92-54 Queens Boulevard in Flushing for $13.2 million to Yonkers-based affordable housing provider Westhab. Slate purchased the 12,300-square-foot lot in November for $13.1 million.

7. BTP 1630 Cody Ave LLC bought a Vintage Wine Warehouse at 16-30 Cody Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, for $13.2 million from 1630 Cody Avenue LLC. Charles Moss signed for the buyer and Anthony James Leventhal signed for the seller. Built in 1931, the two-floor industrial building spans 40,000 square feet. It last sold in 2005 for $2 million.

8. Crystal Realty Inc. bought an industrial building at 33-34 Prince Street in Flushing for $12.5 million from Courtlandt Boot Jack Co. Shun Qian Liu signed for the buyer and John Parlante signed for the seller. Built in 1974, the single-story warehouse spans 26,000 square feet. It last sold in 1994 for an undisclosed amount.

9. An entity connected to AWH Partners sold a development site at 88 Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn for $11.3 million to an entity tied to the Jankos Group. AWH bought the property, then a vacant apartment building, for $13.6 million in 2019. Its plan for a 25-floor, 120-room Hilton microtel never came to fruition.