CHINATOWN — A landlord accused of harassing rent-stabilized tenants is looking to acquire a building on Canal Street, records show.
Samy Mahfar of SMA Equities bid $25 million for 243 Canal St., a property previously owned by Sau Tchu Luu Fan until her death, last year on Nov. 19, according to filings in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court.
The six-story building, located between Lafayette and Centre streets, was appraised at $15 million dollars, but the court-appointed administrators of Fan’s estate — her relatives James Luu and Ba Hue Luu La — began receiving bids worth more than the appraisal, according to a court filing informing a judge of the higher offers.
A buyer initially offered $18 million for the commercial property, court records show, but was outbid by Mahfar and another buyer, Michael Alvandi, who both separately offered $25 million, according to court records.
Mahfar owns several other residential buildings in the city, including four in the Lower East Side whose rent-stabilized tenants took him to court last year, claiming he refused to renew their leases and used “hazardous construction practices to force them out of their homes.
Mahfar and Alvandi declined to comment. The attorney representing Fan’s estate did immediately respond to requests for comment.
