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A long-disputed homeless shelter site on the Upper East Side has changed hands for just under $15 million, according to public records reviewed Friday. Crain’s New York Business, which first reported the sale, notes that Apex Investments purchased the seven-story building at 419 East 91st Street through an LLC tied to principal Kasra Sanandaji.
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Sanandaji also recently signed paperwork to buy 160 West 74th Street on the Upper West Side — another former school building set to be converted into a shelter — as part of what appears to be a larger, multi-property acquisition. According to CoStar information cited by Crain’s, the company is also acquiring a 50-bed women’s shelter on Staten Island for a combined total of $48.7 million, though that deed has not yet surfaced in city records.The East 91st Street building, roughly 16,000 square feet between First and York Avenues, had been owned by an entity linked to Bayrock Capital, which also sold the West 74th Street property. Plans to open a shelter there have faced years of delays and neighborhood friction, including objections from nearby residents and Eli Zabar, who owns adjacent properties and had previously sought to block the project.
Originally proposed in 2021, the site was expected to open in 2022 under Goddard Riverside, but the nonprofit withdrew later that year. A new provider, Services for the Underserved, was selected in 2024 to operate a 92-bed “Welcome Center” offering short-term stays for adults. The facility was expected to open in 2024, though its current timeline remains unclear.
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