Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY), controlled by chairman Lev Leviev, is continuing efforts to sell properties, including in the US. According to Brooklyn real estate paper "Brownstoner", Leviev and his partner Isaac Katan have put back on the market the Gowanus Village project.
Leviev, Katan, and Shaya Boymelgreen bought the properties in 2002 and 2004. After Leviev dissolved his partnership with Boymelgreen, Africa-Israel and Katan took over the project, with Africa-Israel owning 67% and Katan 33%. The developers planned a mixed-use project with 400-600 luxury apartments on a four-acre old industrial site along the Gowanus Canal.
"Brownstoner" says that Africa-Israel and Katan originally put the property on the market in early 2008, for $27 million, but later pulled the listing. The property is back on the market without a specific price listed, merely stating "make an offer". Leviev, Katan, and other developers had hoped to redevelop the old industrial area as a fashionable residential area. Leviev and Katan hired architect Enrique Norten for the Gowanus Village project, which would include a boardwalk along the water and cafes.
However, the rezoning of the area has been delayed, and Leviev and Katan apparently no longer want the sites on Carroll Street and Second Avenue. According to "Brownstoner", one of the properties for sale is the former "No More Corporate Bullshit" building, which is described as an "iconic industrial" structure.
According to Africa-Israel's financial report for the second quarter of 2009, the project had not yet obtained a building permit. The company priced the property at more than NIS 70 million at the end of 2008. On the basis of the company's 67% stake in the project, it hopes to sell it for neither a capital gain or loss.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 5, 2009
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