UPDATED, 12:22 p.m., May 1: Lightstone Group has had a busy start to the year.
The company had the biggest deal of the first quarter in both Queens and the Bronx, where its roughly $21 million purchase of Stevenson Towers at 831 Bartholdi Street topped the list. In Queens, it took the top spot with its $60 million purchase of Long Island City’s Hilton Garden Inn.
Sales of residential buildings dominated the Bronx’s largest deals overall, taking up seven out of the top 10 spots. The remaining three were split between an industrial sale, a development site sale and a senior housing sale.
The Bronx had a relatively light first quarter in terms of dollar volume, as the top 10 deals were only worth about $148.3 million. This was significantly lower than the previous quarter, when they were worth about $324 million, and the first quarter of 2017, when they were worth about $296 million.
Other notable deals from the first quarter of 2018 included Related Companies’ sale of 2543-2567 Decatur Avenue for about $19.6 million and Ashkenazy Acquisition’s purchase of 4720 Third Avenue for $18 million.
The full list of the Bronx’s top 10 deals for the first quarter is below:
1. 831 Bartholdi Street, approximately $21 million
Buyer: Lightstone Group
Seller: Abraham Greenspan
This residential building in Williamsbridge, called Stevenson Towers, is part of a four-building portfolio in the Bronx that Lightstone Group purchased in March. It stands six stories tall with 122 units, and Lightstone plans to renovate the property. Overall, the four buildings span about 260,000 square feet and contain 266 apartments. The other three are located at 105 East 177th Street, 2151 Davidson Avenue and 3520 Dekalb Avenue, and the Bartholdi Street building is the only one of the four that is not rent-stabilized.
2. 2543-2567 Decatur Avenue, approximately $19.6 million
Buyer: Taconic Investment Partners, Clarion Partners
Seller: NYC Pension Funds, Related Companies
This deal was also part of a portfolio sale from the Related Companies and the New York City pension funds to Taconic Investment Partners. The deal includes 12 rental buildings throughout the Bronx for slightly more than $70 million. The property at 2543-2567 Decatur Avenue has 98 units across five floors, and the overall portfolio consists of 368 rent-stabilized apartments. The Decatur Avenue site also includes street retail, and Taconic plans to renovate the property.
3. 4720 Third Avenue, $18 million
Buyer: 101 Holdings, Cactus Holdings and Agus Holdings
Seller: Dian J Mayo
The sole development site deal to crack the top 10 in the Bronx was a partnership between Michael Ashkenazy’s 101 Holdings, Peter Castellana III’s Cactus Holdings and Agus Holdings, who bought commercial properties in the Bronx at 4270 Third Avenue, 4734 Third Avenue and 448 East 189th Street. The parcels are currently parking facilities that the developers plan to demolish and replace with a Western Beef supermarket. The two previously partnered on the $14 million purchase of two lots in Marble Hill last September.
4. 1050 East 230th Street, approximately $14.1 million
Buyer: LNH Realty LLC, Laconia Nursing Home Inc.
Seller: Willowbrook Care Center Company LLC
Willowbrook Care Center Company sold the Laconic Nursing Home in March for about $14.1 million. The 58,810-square-foot property in Wakefield was built in 1973 and stands seven stories tall with 240 units.
5. 1112 Carroll Place, approximately $13.7 million
Buyer: Martin Schwartz
Seller: MCR Associates
Martin Schwartz purchased this Concourse Village residential property from MCR Associates in March for about $13.7 million. The six-story building was constructed in 1928 and contains 80 residential units across 170,625 square feet. Its value has gone up dramatically over the past few years, as the property previously sold in April 2011 for just $5.6 million.
6. 1314 Seneca Avenue, approximately $13.5 million
Buyer: 1314 Seneca Housing Development Fund Corp.
Seller: Investors led by Gershon Eichorn, Yechiel Steigman and Menachem Levy
The Seneca Housing Development Fund, an affordable housing company, purchased this six-story property in Hunts Point for about $13.5 million in March. The building includes street retail and previously sold in December 2014 for $7.6 million. It was constructed in 1928 and renovated in 2008.
7. 2150 Creston Avenue, approximately $12.9 million
Buyer: Prana Investments
Seller: Crestef Realty LLC, Walk Realty LLC, Crestbue Realty LLC, Landau Real Estate, Crestome Realty LLC
Prana purchased this six-story, 54-unit mixed-use building in Tremont for about $12.9 million in March. The company, based in San Francisco, purchased it from a group of investors that included Jacob Landau and Moses Eckstein.
8. 425 Devoe Avenue, $12.5 million
Buyer: Abingdon Square Partners
Seller: Quality Door Corp
Abingdon Square Partners purchased this 90,000-square-foot warehouse property in West Farms from Quality Door Corp for $12.5 million. The three-story building was constructed in 1900, and this is the company’s second purchase in the borough following its warehouse purchase at 521 Bergen Avenue last October.
9. 114 East 168th Street, approximately $12 million
Buyer: Prana Investments
Seller: Walk Realty LLC, Akiva Pietrokowski, Harold Forspan, Landau Real Estate
Prana Investment’s second appearance on this list came courtesy of its roughly $12 million purchase of 114 East 168th Street in Concourse. The building, known as Grand View Hall, was built in 1927 and stands six stories tall with 59 units.
10. 2608 Creston Avenue, approximately $12 million (tied)
Buyer: Taconic Investment Partners, Clarion Partners
Seller: NYC Pension Funds, Related Companies
Another segment of the Related Companies sale closed out the top 10 list for the Bronx’s first quarter. Taconic and Clarion purchased 2608 Creston Avenue in Fordham for just under $12 million, the same price as 114 East 168th Street. The six-story property was built in 1922 and contains 54 units across 221,296 square feet. Taconic plans to renovate it, and the building previously sold in December 2015 for $9.8 million.
This piece has been updated to clarify the buyer of 4720 Third Avenue.