Himmel + Meringoff, Square Mile Acquire Bronx Mixed-Use Site for $89M
By Mack Burke May 7, 2019 5:55 pm
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Owner and developer Himmel + Meringoff (H+M) and financier Square Mile Capital Management together have acquired a mixed-use industrial site in the Bronx for $89 million from Sackman Enterprises, according to information from the buyers.
The site provides “value-enhancement” opportunities, according to the buyers, appealing to Square Mile’s profile. The deal is part of what H+M said is a renewed push to expand its operations further into the outer boroughs of the city, taking advantage of a hot market for industrial and warehouse space.
Pinnacle Realty represented the seller in the transaction. Sackman had owned the asset for around 30 years, sources said.
“This deal represents the launch of a new active acquisition program for H+M,” the firm’s co-managing partners, Stephen Meringoff and Leslie Himmel said in a joint prepared statement. “With a deep war chest of cash accumulated through several years of successful refinancings, we are planning to grow our exposure to the outer boroughs by investing in properties where we can add value as we have proven time and again throughout Manhattan, but also in Long Island City where we have owned mixed-use and industrial properties dating back over 30 years.”
The two-story, 305,000-square-foot property at 1601 Bronxdale Avenue, in the Van Nest neighborhood of the borough, sits on a 7.5-acre site and comprises industrial and distribution space, primarily, with connected office and retail space, according to the buyers.
The fully-leased property is home to a New York Sports Club and serves as a distribution hub for Parts Authority; it also has offices space utilized by Consolidated Edison,
“The ongoing expansion of New York City economic activity, beyond Manhattan and well into the surrounding submarkets, is creating attractive opportunities for real estate investment firms like ours,” Square Mile CEO Craig Solomon said in prepared remarks. “In this case, we intend to take advantage of increased local market demand for distribution facilities.”
Square Mile managing director Jesse Goepel said in a statement that “the ongoing evolution of retailing, along with rapid changes to underlying supply and demand dynamics, are driving investor and tenant demand for urban infill industrial assets… we recognize the convergence of these factors and have made several recent investments in New York City and elsewhere that aim to capitalize on these favorable long term trends.”
With the property sitting just north of the center of Parkchester, the joint venture is planning to deploy capital to improve the asset and better position it to leverage its “prime” location, which includes access to Manhattan, Long Island and Connecticut and New Jersey via several main throughways.
An official at Sackman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
