Marcus & Millichap Arranges $2.7 M. Sale of Renovated Harlem Building
By Al Barbarino May 31, 2013 7:30 am
reprintsMarcus & Millichap (MMI) has arranged the $2.7 million sale of a five-story, 9,410-square-foot mixed-use building at 245 west 135th street in Harlem, offering its new owner immediate cash flow and little hassle, The Commercial Observer has learned.
The turnkey mixed use building was floated around in the open market for several months before Marcus & Millichap was assigned the exclusive assignment, finding a buyer who was able to close the all-cash transaction within four days of signing the contract, brokers said.
“We crushed it,” said Marcus & Millichap’s Seth Glasser, who brokered the deal exclusively with Peter Von Der Ahe, Scott Edelstein and Joe Koicim. “The property offers immediate cash flow from day one – no questions asked.”
The property, between Adam Clayton and Frederick Douglass Boulevards, features four, four-bedroom, floor-through, gut renovated market rate units with average rents of $3,206 per month, and a commercial unit occupied by non-profit Institute for Leadership, which plans to renew its lease upon expiration two years from now.
Mr. Glasser was unable to identify the buyer and seller, citing a confidentiality agreement, but said the purchaser owns two properties in the East Village and was drawn to the comparative bargain offered in Harlem. The deal was a 1031-exchange – swapped for one of the new owner’s New Jersey properties.
“The market [further] downtown is very inflated – artificially or not,” Mr. Glasser said, “So other people are looking for other opportunities… This was the perfect deal for an out-of-market buyer.”
In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Harlem experienced a cultural Renaissance, seen by many as a historic moment in time for the neighborhood. During the 1980’s and 1990’s the area experienced a building boom, creating an eclectic mix of modern condominiums and lofts adjacent to original neighborhood townhomes.
Since the 1990’s, Harlem has experienced rapid gentrification, led by changing federal and city policies, including an effort to develop the housing corridor of 125th Street. The number of apartments has increased 14 percent from 1990 to 2000 and have continued to increase, according to data provided by Marcus & Millichap, which shows that the value of homes in Central Harlem increased 300 percent during the 1990’s, while the rest of New York City only experienced a 12 percent increase.
