An executive at a unicorn-level startup is behind another relative rarity: a Brooklyn townhouse deal.
Richard Valtr, founder of Mews Systems, a 12-year-old software company servicing hotels that claims to have recently hit a $1.2 billion valuation, has snapped up 48 Garden Place, according to the city register.
The six-bedroom, four-bath property, which Valtr purchased with his wife, fashion industry public relations executive Lissy von Schwarzkopf, went for $9.95 million, a deed says.
Featuring a parlor floor with two fireplaces, an open kitchen with counter seating and a skylight, and bluestone-lined backyard, No. 48 had asked $12 million when it came on the market in April 2023, based on online listing data, and so required a nearly 20% price cut to trade.
The seller appears to be Susan Abdalla, a tech consultant who paid $7.5 million for the stoop-fronted 5,100-square-foot site, which sits on a leafy block between Joralemon and State streets in the city’s oldest historic district, in 2014, records show. Previously, the property had been owned by Robert Pierot Jr., the CEO of a family-owned, multigenerational shipping company founded in Europe in 1894.
Compass agent Barbara Wilding, who represented the seller, did not return an email for comment.
Mews, whose cloud-based product promises to make it easier for hotel guests to pay for meals, bike rentals and incidentals as they roam around hotel properties, as well as to help them book rooms and check out, so far seems to have mostly overseas accommodations as clients. Overall, the Amsterdam-based company says 5,000 hospitality brands in 85 countries use its software.
In the U.S., most clients appear to be boutique-style addresses outside of New York such as Roost, a long-term-stay offering in Philadelphia and other East Coast cities; the Local, a St. Augustine, Florida, property; and Revisn, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Although its presence may be limited locally, the 973-employee Mews has had no problem wooing investors, with 17 firms, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, chipping in $324 million in seven rounds of financing since the firm’s 2012 founding, according to PitchBook. Mews’ latest round, a $110 million series C2, occurred in March.
No. 48 Garden Place is one of only a handful of higher-end Brooklyn townhouses to sell so far this year. Indeed, Just five have closed at $7 million and above in “brownstone Brooklyn,” the historic swath composed of neighborhoods including Cobble Hill, Crown Heights and Park Slope, according to a Crain’s analysis of Streeteasy data. Last year was also slow, with just 10 above that threshold, based on the data, while there were 28 deals in 2022.
High interest rates are making many owners with relatively affordable home loans skittish about selling, depriving the market of inventory and essentially freezing it.
At just under $10 million, No. 48 seems to be one of the priciest single-family properties to sell in Kings County since 2022.
“Our client intends for this to be their family home. It’s really a dream for them,” said Compass agent Rachel Greenstein, adding that Garden Place, a one-block stretch that does not get a lot of car traffic, is especially popular with trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
But other buyers flocking to townhouses in the current market are investors aware of the robust rental potential of the properties, which can fetch $13,000 to $25,000 per month, Greenstein added: “They’re a great investment.”
C. J. Hughes , 2024-05-08 19:29:07
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