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It wasn’t clear immediately who the identity of the buyer was, though speculation has swirled whether it is a member of that area’s Hasidic community. The site can accommodate about 400,000 square feet of residential space, but has a restriction penciled into its deed that disallows more than 216 apartments to built on the site, a relatively sparse number of units considering the size of a potential project – the parcel is about two acres in size.

The cap on apartments was a move by former owner Isaac Hager to keep the property in the cloistered Hasidic community, which typically have large families and would seek out the kind of spacious units such a project could create. Mr. Hager eventually lost control of the site to his lender, Manchester Real Estate & Construction, according to written reports. Manchester was the seller in the current deal.

Bob Knakal, chairman of the brokerage company Massey Knakal, led a company team that handled the sale of the property. Mr. Knakal confirmed he was handling the deal but said he couldn’t comment on whether the property had yet traded hands.

http://commercialobserver.com/2012/09/421-kent-street-sells-for-40-million/