Barrett and Van Voorhis of RM Friedland sell YMCA Tarrytown to Wilder Balter for $6.45 million

 

 

Tarrytown, NY RM Friedland has completed the sale of the historic YMCA building to Wilder Balter for the redevelopment of the four-story brick building into 109 units of affordable housing plus additional parking for local merchants. The building sold for the full asking price of $6.45 million.

John Barrett, managing director, Investment Sales Division of RM Friedland worked alongside Katelin Van Voorhis of RM Friedland’s retail team who acted as the team lead for the facility relocation component of the assignment. The Tarrytown YMCA is temporarily relocating to the EF International School.

The 41,537 s/f building is located at 62 Main St.

The story behind this transaction is a case study in how the seller, the broker and the developer worked collaboratively with local merchants and Village officials to craft a transaction where everyone came out a winner.

“This really was a partnership from the very beginning between the YMCA, RM Friedland, Wilder Balter, Tarrytown Merchants Council and Village government. We all came together to see what was really important to the Village while preserving affordable housing,” said John Barrett, managing director- Investment Sales Division of RM Friedland, which was the broker for the sale.

The Family YMCA at Tarrytown property was originally constructed in 1928 and had significant additions and wings added to it over the years. The building sits on prime real estate encompassing 1.2 acres on a hill with frontage on Main St. in the Village’s vibrant downtown shopping district.

The YMCA has provided supportive housing for 42 men, as well as providing daycare services and a fitness program. Like many non-profits, they are unable to sustain themselves and decided to continue to provide daycare services and the fitness program and exit the supportive housing business. In order to raise funds, they chose to sell their building and look to acquire a new property. The YMCA hired RM Friedland to handle the sale. “We advised them for nine months before they put the property on the market regarding the positioning of the property and how they would announce it to the community,” Barrett said.

Since 2005, Barrett has evaluated and marketed over $950 million worth of investment real estate in the New York Metro area for his clients including non-profits such as Westchester Jewish Community Services, Yonkers Gospel Mission, Grace Church Community Center and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

“We put it on the market in September of 2019 and within 60 days we received 20 offers. And within 90 days of that we were under hard contract. That’s fairly fast for a development site,” said Barrett. “And we got the full asking price.”

The buyer was Wilder Balter, a company well-known for its commitment to affordable housing development. Between the time the contract was signed and closed, Barrett and the buyer met with stakeholders which included the Tarrytown Merchants Council, Village officials and local condominium association. It was agreed that the façade of the 93-year-old building was to be preserved. The merchants main concern was the need for additional parking. Developer Bill Balter agreed to provide 100 additional parking spaces for the exclusive use of the merchants.

Barret said, “This transaction was a success on many levels. We increased the number of affordable units and boosted the parking for Downtown Tarrytown, a vital component of the success of a downtown village shopping. It’s a win-win for everyone involved – the seller, the purchaser, the merchants, the Village government and the community!”