The company sold a 16-story building at 254 West 35th Street in the Garment District for $26.2 million, netting a profit of about $10 million in less than two years. Cayre bought the 106,000-square-foot property in December 2024 for $16.2 million with plans to convert it to self-storage, then turned it over to Joel Wertzberger’s Joyland for a 62 percent increase in value, property records show.
The deal comes six months after the City Council approved the long-awaited rezoning of Midtown South, which will allow high-density housing development in large parts of the neighborhood. Plans for a home renovation were filed in January, according to PincusCo, which first reported the sale, brokered by Itanel Rahamani of Venture Capital Properties.
Joyland obtained a $27 million loan from Levon Capital to finance the purchase. The debt was arranged by Henry Bodek of Galaxy Capital.
The increase in value was probably caused by the repurposing, which makes housing construction feasible. The building was zoned as an industrial building but is now part of a mixed-use district that allows for residential, commercial, community facilities and light manufacturing uses.
The rezoning of Midtown South has created two new high-density residential neighborhoods that will allow for projects up to 15 and 18 times the size of the lots. The changes apply to four parts of Midtown South that have long been dominated by manufacturing zones that either excluded housing entirely or limited density.
Joyland apparently has no intention of building the project itself. Concurrent with the purchase, the company signed a $6.8 million, 99-year lease with Brooklyn developer Mendel Fleischman.
Cayre and Wertzberger did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Keith Larsen contributed reporting.
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