HUBB NYC picks up LES rental for $64M

Deal is one of the few 421a buildings to trade as program is set to expire

171 Chrystie Street, HUBB’s John McCarthy and Be Aviv’s Ben Harlev (171 Chrystie Street, Ben Harlev via NadlanCityNY)
171 Chrystie Street, HUBB’s John McCarthy and Be Aviv’s Ben Harlev (171 Chrystie Street, Ben Harlev via NadlanCityNY)

Three weeks before 421a is set to expire, HUBB NYC picked up one of the few apartment buildings developed on the Lower East Side under the program for $64 million.

HUBB, led by president John McCarthy, bought the 78-unit rental building at 167-171 Chrystie Street from developer Be Aviv, the buyer told The Real Deal. The purchase price was $63.5 million.

HUBB head of acquisitions Jesse Terry wrote in an email that he considers the deal to be a rare opportunity, given the expiration of multifamily development tax break Affordable New York on June 15.

“In light of the expiration of the program in June, we do consider a Manhattan Affordable NY deal a unicorn,” he said. “The use of the program was much more common in the boroughs.”

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Be Aviv, run by Ben Harlev and Eyal Epstein, purchased a ground lease on the site in 2017 for $9.5 million and developed it into the 16-story luxury doorman building. A brokerage team of Joseph Friedman and Julian Perla at Blackshore Realty Group negotiated the off-market sale to HUBB.

HUBB has been active in the 421a space. Last year the company paid $105 million to buy a 141-unit Affordable New York building in Harlem at 56 West 125th Street.

Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out a plan earlier this year to replace 421a when it expires in June, but it now appears the program will expire without a replacement.