Maddd Equities, SoBro buy empty Bronx office building for $44M

A former warehouse-turned-office building in the South Bronx is changing hands for just $5 million more than it sold for seven years ago — and possibly changing its destiny again too.

Jorge Madruga’s Maddd Equities and the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation acquired the Union Crossing development and an adjacent parking lot at 804 and 825 East 141st Street in Port Morris for $44 million from an entity tied to the Altmark Group, according to property records filed Tuesday.

JLL’s Steven Rutman and Andrew Scandalios represented both the buyer and seller in the deal. PincusCo was first to report on the transaction.

The seven-story former warehouse was acquired by Altmark, Eli Tabak’s Bluestone Group, Josh Zegen’s Madison Realty Capital and Galil Management for $39 million in 2016 before undergoing a $45 million renovation that saw it converted to flex offices, retail and studio space.

The development was refinanced for $85 million in early 2020, but later that year, a $79 million  sub-performing loan was put up for sale by lender Libremax Capital. Libremax did not respond when reached for comment.

At least one office tenant signed a lease in the building: nonprofit affordable housing developer Westhab, which inked a 10-year deal for 8,000 square feet in 2019. But the status of the project remains unclear. A Google Streetview image from October shows a banner advertising 300,000 available square feet. 

The project’s leasing agent did not respond to a request for comment, but the buyers may provide a clue as to the property’s future. The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, more commonly known as SoBro, develops and manages affordable and special needs housing in addition to commercial and industrial properties. The organization has developed more than 1,500 units of housing and built or rehabilitated almost 260,000 square feet of industrial, retail and office space.

Maddd Equities has been a prolific developer of mostly affordable housing projects in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx, and is currently building a two-tower, 611-unit affordable housing complex in Inwood. Among its other notable projects is a 17-story, 250-unit mixed-use development at 1164 River Avenue near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. 

The former warehouse at 825 East 141st Street was originally built as a baking facility for the A&P grocery chain in 1916. It was later used to store food-processing equipment until the partnership acquired it in 2016.

Neither the buyers nor the seller responded to requests for comment.

Bronx-based Altmark has been an active player in its home borough. The firm filed plans in 2019 to build a 23-story, 135-unit residential building at 2445 Third Avenue in Port Morris and is also developing an eight-story, 133-unit mixed-use building at 750 East 134th Street in the same neighborhood.