Legion Investment Group, SMA Equities Pair on 300K-SF UES Resi Project
By Emily Davis September 25, 2026 2:59 pm
reprints
Legion Investment Group and SMA Equities have teamed on a 300,000-square-foot residential development rising on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The new partnership secured a $99 million pre-development loan for the 37-story project at 1491-1497 Third Avenue on Thursday, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the news.
BDT & MSD Partners and Deutsche Bank provided the loan, while a Walker & Dunlop team led by Aaron Appel, Dustin Stolly, Jonathan Schwartz, Keith Kurland, Adam Schwartz, Sean Reimer and Sean Bastian arranged the financing.
“We’re pleased to once again partner with Legion, alongside SMA Equities, to arrange the financing that facilitated the acquisition of this irreplaceable Upper East Side condominium development site,” Appel said in a statement to CO.
The assemblage at the corner of East 84th Street and Third Avenue has been nearly 20 years in the making, according to TRD. Samy Mahfar’s SMA Equities first purchased the corner lot at 1491-1493 Third Avenue in 2007, paying $33.8 million for the historic commercial building alongside real estate investor David Moussazadeh and Rex Properties’ Francis Moezinia.
In 2016, the three partners secured the taller commercial property at 1495 Third Avenue next door for $18.2 million, according to city reports, and snapped up the five-story mixed-use apartment building at 1497 Third Avenue for $12.5 million in 2025.
Demolition for the residential development is already underway, with Hill West Architects selected for its design. The forthcoming 510-foot-tall tower will include roughly 120 condos, according to New York YIMBY, and will offer 18,994 square feet of lower-level commercial space.
The project with SMA Equities adds another feather to the cap of Legion’s Upper East Side portfolio, which includes luxury condominium towers at 109 East 79th Street and 1122 Madison Avenue. The latter development with Nahla Capital topped out in January.
This past summer, Legion also wrapped vertical construction at 550 West 21st Street, a 83-unit project along Chelsea’s High Line. The company continues development of its six-parcel assemblage at 38 Gramercy Park East alongside Gindi Capital.
A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the transaction, and spokespeople for Legion, SMA Equities and BDT & MSD Partners did not respond to requests.
Emily Davis can be reached at edavis@commercialobserver.com.
