Mehra, Doshi and Zucco of Besen & Associates broker $6.55 million sale of two mixed-use Harlem buildings

Besen & Associates has completed the sale of two mixed-use properties at 2655 and 2657 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (FDB). These walk-up buildings consist of 26 apartments and six stores, and span 50 ft. along the west side of FDB on the corner of West 142nd St., in walking distance to City College of New York (CCNY). The properties were sold by Castellan Real Estate to a local private investor. Shallini Mehra and Amit Doshi of Besen & Associates represented the seller, and Alan Zucco of Besen procured the buyer. The buildings traded for a total of $6.55 million. The properties are both five-story walk-ups offering a combined total of 21,508 gross s/f. Together they occupy 50' of frontage on FDB, on a 100' deep lot. Layouts include 14 two-bedrooms and 12 three-bedroom units. Average in-place rents amount to $1,376/month, with all apartments under rent stabilization. 2265 has two stores occupying spaces of 800 and 500 s/f, with annualized retail rent average of $39 per s/f. In 2657, three of four stores were delivered vacant, allowing flexibility as to placing tenants of the purchaser's own choosing. The building also has a cell antenna on lease until December 2019, providing for additional income. The price equates to a gross rent multiplier of 11, 5.2% capitalization rate, $305 per s/f and $172,000 per unit. "The seller renovated almost half of the units, contributing to the income while still leaving enough upside for the new buyer," said Mehra. "As Harlem continues to gentrify, the demand for apartment buildings with stores goes even higher." "This was a first foray into Manhattan for the buyer," said Zucco. "He's mainly a Bronx operator, and actually felt this was a better value than recent Bronx deals he's been seeing."