For only the second time in two and a half years, the megalandlord Mandy Management purchased market-rate rental housing in East Rock — picking up 16 condos on Whitney Avenue as part of a monthlong, $4 million, 45-unit buying spree.
According to the city land records database, on Feb. 10, the Mandy-affiliated holding company SFR 2 DE LLC spent $1.515 million buying 16 condos and 3 separately-zoned garage spaces at the Alden House condo complex at 570 Whitney Ave.
The condos were previously owned by Gary Beane of Scarsdale, N.Y., Karen O’Connor of Venice, Florida, and Gail and Richard Dalby of Branford.
The city assessor last appraised all 19 properties as worth a combined total of $2.06 million.
The Whitney Avenue purchases represent only the second time since Oct. 1, 2018 that Mandy-affiliated companies have picked up rental housing in East Rock. (Oct. 1, 2018 is when the Independent started keeping track of every property sale in the city.)
The last — and, before that, the only — recent Mandy purchase in East Rock was of a five-unit apartment building at 633 Orange St. in October 2020.
In that same two-and-a-half year span, Mandy-affiliated companies have spent over $70.4 million buying 768 apartments citywide, with a vast majority of in the Annex (98 units), Fair Haven Heights (97), Newhallville (83), Fair Haven (78), the Hill (77), Beaver Hills (68), Quinnipiac Meadows (51), Edgewood (34), and West River (26).
Those neighborhoods tend to be relatively far from the city center and, except for the racially diverse, middle class Beaver Hills, occupied predominantly by working class, Black and Hispanic residents. East Rock is whiter and wealthier.
“We bought this deal because the numbers made sense to us,” Mandy Management’s Yudi Gurevitch told the Independent by email about the Whitney Avenue buys.
“Obviously the area is a great area very close to downtown and Yale which made it even more attractive for us. We have no major plans for this particular property, we are keeping the current tenants in place and we will continue to supply the excellent service we strive for. We get better every day and we consider ourselves to be one of the best management companies in New Haven.”
The city assessor’s database lists the Alden House complex as having a total of 40 different housing units and 15 separate garage units.
In addition to the Whitney Avenue purchases, some of Mandy’s other recent local purchases include:
• 47 Spring St., a three-family house in the Hill that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $310,000 on Feb. 6. The city last appraised the property as worth $202,200.
• 26 Auburn St., a three-family house in West River that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $290,000 on on Feb. 10. The city last appraised the property as worth $169,900.
• 95 Willis St., a three-family house in Newhallville that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $280,000 on Feb. 8. The city last appraised the property as worth $136,400.
• 351 Sherman Ave., a three-family house in Beaver Hills that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $270,000 on Feb. 6. The city last appraised the property as worth $178,300.
• 1260 Whalley Ave., a three-family house in Westville that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $242,000 on on Feb. 13. The city last appraised the property as worth $213,300.
• 49 Admiral St., a two-family house in Dixwell that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $220,000 on Feb. 24. The city last appraised the property as worth $140,400.
• 45 Frank St., a three-family house in the Hill that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $180,000 on Feb. 11. The city last appraised the property as worth $115,700.
• 253 Blake St., a two-family house in Beaver Hills that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $153,000 on Feb. 15. The city last appraised the property as worth $137,800.
• 201 Bassett St., a two-family house in Newhallville that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $140,000 on Feb. 23. The city last appraised the property as worth $101,800.
• 112 Emerson St., a single-family house in Westville that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $140,000 on on March 3. The city last appraised the property as worth $131,700.
• 25 Crofton St. , a single-family house in the Annex that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $110,000 on on Feb. 5. The city last appraised the property as worth $133,600.
• 60 Fulton St., a two-family house in the Annex that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $95,000 on March 3. The city last appraised the property as worth $133,100.
• 1423 Quinnipiac Ave., Unit 108, a condo in Quinnipiac Meadows that SFR 2 DE LLC bought for $55,000 on Feb. 22. The city last appraised the property as worth $61,200.
Taco Bell Sells For Nearly 2X City Value
And in other recent property transactions, on Feb. 25, Lisa Rick LLC, a holding company owned by Allan Borghesi of Torrington, purchased the Taco Bell fast food restaurant at 355 Foxon Blvd. for $2.456 million from MG1 Venture LLC, a holding company owned by Eric Siegel of Boston, Mass.
The property last sold for $2.025 million in 2019, and the city last appraised the property as worth $1,330,300.