NEW YORK, NY – October 1, 2018 – Ariel Property Advisors has facilitated the sale of the West 165th/166th Street block-through assemblage, a rare development site in the rapidly expanding Northern Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights. The property sold for $21 million.

The site – which consists of eight lots with extensive frontage on 165th Street, 166th Street and Edgecombe Avenue – has a zoning lot area of 31,576 square feet. The property’s R7-2 zoning allows for approximately 119,370 buildable square feet as-of-right, with the community facility bonus increasing this tally to 205,244 buildable square feet.

Exclusive agents Victor Sozio, Shimon Shkury, Michael A. Tortorici, Matthew L. Gillis, and David Khukhashvili represented the seller, Sand Realty Group, LLC, and procured the buyer, Edge Property Group led by Ari Sherizen.

“The site’s substantial footprint and proximity to neighborhood institutions, such as Columbia Presbyterian, were main drivers in establishing the site’s value,” said Victor Sozio, Executive Vice President at Ariel Property Advisors. “It was a highly competitive marketing process and that is a testament to the area’s continued growth and perception amongst developers.”

Sozio believes the area is poised for an uptick in development activity as investors seek opportunities to deploy capital in emerging markets. Historically, development transaction volume has lagged considerably behind other areas of Northern Manhattan, such as Harlem. According to research compiled by Ariel Property Advisors, close to 100 transactions categorized as “development sites” have occurred in Harlem since 2015. In that same period of time, about 12 development transactions took place in Washington Heights.

“As developers and their investors have the opportunity to review more transaction data in the area, including rental and condominium sales comps, they will become increasingly more comfortable and attracted to an area of Manhattan offering land at close to a third of the price of its counterparts below 110th Street,” Sozio said

A bevy of well-known attractions and institutions are within walking distance of the site, including New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, an expansive campus that contains state-of-the-art treatment and research facilities. Columbia University’s New Medical and Graduate Education Facility is also nearby.

The site also benefits from multiple transportation options, including the 1, A, and C subway lines, allowing for easy access to Midtown Manhattan.