Thomas Breen / Google Map photos
Wooster Square apartments purchased by Mandy over the past two years. Top row, left to right: 23 Brown St., 19 Brown St., 17 Brown St. Middle row: 208 Wooster St., the Wooster Street arch (not owned by Mandy), 604 Chapel St. Bottom row: 325 St. John St., 191 Wooster St., 533 Chapel St.
Affiliates of Mandy Management bought seven apartments and a vacant lot on Brown Street for $1.1 million — the latest instance of the local megalandlord’s two-year, $14 million-and-counting expansion into Wooster Square real estate.
Those were among the most recent property transactions in town. (See chart below for the full rundown.)
According to the city’s land records database, on March 21, two different Mandy-controlled holding companies bought three different properties on Brown Street from Salvatore Consiglio.
Those Mandy property pickups in Wooster Square — which saw a total of $1.1 million change hands across three different transactions — included:
• Mandy’s Netz C1 LLC bought the four-family house at 17 Brown St. for $625,000. The city last appraised that property as worth $525,400.
• Netz C1 LLC bought the three-family house at 19 Brown St. for $470,000. That property last sold for $333,000 in 2007, and the city last appraised that property as worth $543,300.
• Mandy’s MDG Consulting LLC bought the vacant lot at 15 Brown St. for $5,000. The city last appraised that property as worth $197,800.
These three purchases aren’t the only residential real estate buys the local megalandlord has made in Wooster Square as of late.
According to the Independent’s review of city land record transactions, affiliates of Mandy Management have spent a total of $14.8 million buying up 14 different apartment buildings — and one vacant lot — in Wooster Square since April 2020.
In addition to the recent Brown Street buys, those neighborhood purchases include the six-unit apartment house at 325 Saint John St. and the five-unit apartment house at 23 Brown St. ($1.885 million), the seven-unit apartment building at 533 Chapel St. and the 12-unit apartment building at 604 Chapel St. ($4.1 million), the four-unit retail-apartment building at 208 Wooster St. ($642,500), the four-family house at 46 Warren St. ($575,000), the 16-unit apartment building at 191 Wooster St. ($2.8 million), the six-unit apartment building at 224 Wooster St. ($1 million), the three-family house at 26 Lyon St. ($360,000), the four-family house at 49 Warren St. ($650,000), the six-unit apartment building at 37 William St. and the six-unit apartment building at 45 William St. ($1.375 million), and the three-family house at 57 William St. ($316,698).
191 Wooster St.
“We are value-add investors and purchase properties that often have occupancy issues, management problems, significant deferred maintenance, or a combination of all three,” Mandy Management’s Yudi Gurevitch told the Independent when asked for comment about the recent Brown Street purchases in particular, and about Mandy’s investment in Wooster Square apartments more broadly.
“This requires a deep knowledge of real estate, strategic planning, and daily oversight. Each of our investments is evaluated on its individual merit and we are not targeting any specific areas or neighborhoods. As a resident-owner/business, we believe in the future of New Haven. We will continue to invest here because New Haven, for us, has a long list of strong characteristics including a resiliency not seen elsewhere in other markets.”
In addition to these 15, 17, and 19 Brown St. purchases, affiliates of Mandy Management recently spent another $1.19 million buying up four three-family houses containing 12 different apartments in Fair Haven, the Hill, and the Annex.
Those include:
• 204 Clinton Ave., bought by Netz C1 LLC on March 11 from Alfonso Lara for $330,000. That property last sold for $92,500 in 2003, and the city last appraised it as worth $284,700.
• 395 Howard Ave., bought by Netz C1 LLC from Iris Suarez for $300,000. That property last sold for $50,000 in 2001, and the city last appraised it as worth $312,300.
• 217 Farren Ave., bought by Mandy’s Bentzy IV DE LLC on from Leonardo Cabrera for $295,000. That property last sold for $150,000 in 2004, and the city last appraised it as worth $224,100.
• 49 Maltby St., bought by Bentzy IV DE LLC on from David Defelice Sr. and Margo Defelice for $265,000. That property last sold for $82,500, and the city last appraised it as worth $272,700.
$45K-Markup "Roomunity" To "Roomunity" Sale Explained
134 Mansfield St.
In other recent local property transaction news:
• Kings Gate Hav V DE LLC — a holding company controlled by Roomunity’s Yoon-Seok Lee — recently spent a combined sum of $1.785 million buying the six-unit apartment building at 146 Cottage St. and the three-family house at 134 Mansfield St.
Lee’s company bought the Cottage Street property on March 24 for $1.15 million from Stay New Haven LLC, a holding company controlled by state official/local landlord Alexandra Daum. That property last sold for $704,438 in February 2021, and the city last appraised it as worth $685,600.
And on March 23, Lee’s company bought the Mansfield Street property for $635,000 from Kings Gate Hav I LLC … which is another holding company controlled by Lee. That property last sold for $590,000 in August 2021, and the city last appraised it as worth $570,100.
Why exactly did one of Lee’s holding companies sell 134 Mansfield St. to another one of Lee’s holding companies at a $45,000 markup from the last price it paid less than a year ago?
“The transaction was partly to consolidate loans,” Lee told the Independent by email when asked for comment. “We now have 1 loan for 2 properties. We currently prefer 30 year fixed rate mortgages instead of mortgages that may reset later on, given that inflation is unfortunately running higher than interest rates. HAV5 purchased 146 Cottage St. as well as 134 Mansfield St., on the same day, and got one mortgage for both properties.”
Indeed, the city land records database shows that, on March 25, Lee’s Kings Gate Hav V DE LLC received a mortgage loan worth $1,338,500 from the California-based commercial lender CoreVest American Finance. Covered by that new loan are 146 Cottage St. and 134 Mansfield St.
And what about the price hike between August 2021 and March of this year, in a deal in which both buyer and seller are companies controlled by the same person?
“As to the $635,000 vs. the $590,000, it’s largely due to the updates we made to the property. We repainted the whole property; replaced some appliances; put in more energy-efficient water heaters; put in some new trims. HAV1 also incurred its own closing fees, including prepayment penalty, real estate attorney fees, and other fees to city and state, as one does over a sale.”
And why sell a property to oneself at all? Why not transfer ownership through some other means?
“HAV1 and HAV5 have different members,” Lee said, “so the 2022 transaction needed to reflect a fair market value at the time of transaction, and one that all members unanimously consented to. The property had so much deferred maintenance, that an original Buyer back in 2021 backed out after inspection, according to the Seller’s agent. She called our agent and asked if we’re interested.”
• On March 24, a holding company controlled by Menajem Salamon purchased the warehouse at 2 Thorn St. in the Hill for $750,000 from a holding company controlled by Pablo Jimenez. That property last sold for $650,000 in 2004, and the city last appraised it as worth $1,001,800.
• On March 8, Ice Cream Properties LLC — a holding company controlled by Elena Grewal — purchased the three-family house at 112 Maple St. in Edgewood for $581,095 from a holding company controlled by Chava Raskin. That property last sold for $350,000 in 2020, and the city last appraised it as worth $470,000.
Grewal, who lives in East Rock and chairs the East Rock Community Management Team, told the Independent that this Maple Street purchase is her first foray into becoming a landlord. She doesn’t plan on moving into the Edgewood property, she said. Rather, she “saw the house, and thought it looked really nice,” and decided to buy.
See below for a full list of recent local property transactions.
New Haven land records data
“Mandy.” Beginning of the end?