ABJ Properties Buys Three-Building Harlem Rental Portfolio for $16M
By Liam La Guerre and Lauren Elkies Schram August 3, 2016 6:38 pm
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Manhattan-based multifamily property owner ABJ Properties has purchased three rental apartment buildings in Harlem for $16.1 million, Commercial Observer has learned.
The properties—539 Lenox Avenue, 100 West 138th Street, 102 West 138th Street—have a combined 54 unit and seven retail units. The apartments are all rent-stabilized one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The properties have a total of about 60,000 square feet and are each five stories. The Lenox Avenue property is between West 137th and West 138th Streets, while the West 138th Street buildings are between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.
“We have a growing portfolio of 30-[plus] buildings throughout Harlem, and have a long term focus for our investments and for the neighborhood’s growth potential,” Benjamin Soleimani, an owner of ABJ, said via email. “We’re actively looking for more opportunities in these markets to continuously expand our portfolio.”
Soleimani said ABJ plans on upgrading common areas throughout the buildings. The retail spaces are occupied by various neighborhood services including a pharmacy, a laundromat, a deli, a nail salon and a beauty salon. There is also a Harlem Bar-B-Q at 539 Lenox Avenue.
Victor Sozio of Ariel Property Advisors represented both the buyer and seller, a limited partnership under the name Lenox 138 that developer Strategic Real Estate Enterprises operates. Sozio was not immediately available for comment.
ABJ is no stranger to the Harlem multifamily market. In January, the company closed on 2067 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem for $5.7 million, city records indicate. ABJ also purchased three Harlem properties for $7.5 million at 28 West 132nd Street, 3 West 137th Street and 273 West 150th Street in March 2015, as CO reported last year.
