Brokerage Mark Zborovsky & Co, Inc. has closed on two sales of unsold residential sponsor units in Brooklyn.
An 86-unit block in the Clinton Hill Co-op Corporation, a 1,213-unit property that is one of the largest in the borough, sold for around $7 million. The price was around 30% of its vacant market value, which is approximately $28 million. The 86 units, which are rent-stabilized, have an annual cash shortfall of roughly $80,000, because the below-market rents do not cover maintenance charges. A separate entity, Time Equities, Inc. also owns around 250 units in the development.
Mark Zborovsky of Mark Zborovsky & Co, Inc. represented both the seller and the buyer, a local investor experienced in similar blocks of apartments.
He said one of the partners that owned the block had recently passed away, prompting the other owner the sell the property.
“I could tell the potential buyer, ‘There will definitely be a deal,’” said Zborovsky. He attributed the discount to the fact that the rents were lower than market rate.
Zborovsky also represented the buyer and seller in the sale of 57 sponsor condo units at 225-255 Parkway, which closed at under $11 million, around 35% of the vacant market value. Across the street from the Brooklyn museum, the pre-war building has an Art-Deco façade and a total of 146 units. The 57 units, which are rent-regulated, have a positive cash flow of $135,000 per year.
Zborovsky compared the property to Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, praising its location and design. He said around 40 prospective buyers bid for the building, with a local investor ultimately closing on the deal.
Known as the “King of Blocks,” Zborovsky exclusively markets blocks of unsold residential sponsor condo and co-op units, both rent-regulated and market rate. He said that business has remained brisk, and because buyers generally do all-cash deals, a lack of financing has not deterred trades.
“My market has never actually been affected by this financial crisis that much,” he said.
