First investment property sales of 2016 – Borough focus: Queens, an active first two months - by Rubin Isak

Rubin Isak, Rubin & Isak

Below I will highlight the details for some of the first investment property sales this year in Queens:

• 2101-2119 31^st St. in Astoria is a corner property improved by three, contiguous, single-story retail buildings containing nine retail stores. I sold this for $16.05 million in an all-cash transaction. We closed on January 13^th. With 225 ft. of retail frontage, this sales price equates to $790.25 per s/f. The purchasers were Rockfarmer Properties.

• 41-29 41^st St. in Sunnyside is a pre-war, 50-unit, 40,800 s/f, six-story, elevator apartment building. The property sold for $14.7 million and closed on January 21^st. The purchaser was Albion Grove LLC from Woodside, Queens. The sales price equates to a  $294,000/unit and $360.29 per s/f.

• 142-20 Franklin Ave. in Flushing, aka “The Fairmont,” is a 129,304 s/f, 145-unit apartment building, between Kissena Blvd. and Bowne St.. The property, built in 1970, sold for $43 million on January 11^th. The purchaser is The Pinnacle Group based in Manhattan. 142-20 was family-owned for over 46 years. The sales price equates to $296,551 per unit and $334 per s/f.

• A package of 39 unsold cooperative units located in 107-40 Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills, aka “Lane Towers,” was sold for $7.095 million and closed on January 7^th. Of the 39 units in the package, 23 are studios, 13 are one-bedrooms and 3 are two-bedrooms. 19 are free market units and 20 are rent stabilized.

• 19-40 Flushing Ave. in Ridgewood is a 25,234 s/f warehouse located between Metropolitan Ave. and Woodward Ave. The property sold on February 9^th for $10.5 million. The sales price equates to $416 per s/f. The purchaser is Brooklyn based, Tri-Boro Shelving & Partition Corp.

• 149-19 Union Tpke. in Flushing is a six-store, 6,470 s/f retail strip center. The property sold for $4.1 million on January 27^th. The seller purchased the property back in November 2013 for $2.525 million. The sales price of $4.1 million equates to $633 per s/f. The purchaser is 149-19 Union Tpke Realty LLC, based in Great Neck.

• 71-44 160^th St. in Fresh Meadows is a five-story elevator, 10,882 s/f, 10-unit condo building built in 2006. It sold for $3.75 million on January 12^th.

• 149-46 41^st Ave. in Flushing is a 5,694 s/f, three-story, mixed-use property. It sold for $4.2 million on January 6^th. This sales price equates to $737.62 per s/f. The purchasers are private investors also based in Flushing.

• 43-55 11^th St. in Long Island City sold on January 4^th for $2.225 million. The property is a three-story mixed-use building with 3,889 s/f. The seller, Animal Rescue of Queens, Inc, bought this building for $1.4 million in September 2014. The building was purchased by an adjacent property owner, J & B Realty, LLC.

• 73-09 Myrtle Ave. in Glendale sold on January 7^th for $1.65 million. The three-story, elevator, office building boasts 7,000 s/f. The purchaser was a private investor from Whitestone.

• 30-76 37^th St. in Astoria is a 3,600 s/f, three-story apartment building with six-units. The building sold on January 13^th for $1.75 million. The purchaser is a Manhattan based investor. The sales price equates to $291,666/unit and $486 per s/f.

• 60-07 Northern Blvd. in Woodside sold on January 29^th for $2 million. The property is a 2,500 s/f lot used as a parking lot. Currently zoned, R5. The purchaser is a Long Island City based contractor. The seller bought the lot back in June 2008 for $200,000.

• 43-04 30^th Ave. in Astoria is a 5,570 s/f, three-story, mixed-use building. The property sold on January 27^th for $2.4 million. 43-04 30^th Ave. has been family-owned for over 43 years. The property has two stores on the ground floor and six apartments above.

• 41-05 Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside is a Corner, pre-war, 10,100 s/f, four-story walk-up apartment building containing 16 apartments. This property traded on January 27^th for $4.3 million. This sales price equates to $268,750/unit and $425.74 per s/f. This property was family owned for over 42 years. The purchaser is a private investor based out of Whitestone.

• 62-60 99^th St. in Rego Park, aka “Saxon Hall” is a 16-story, 503,000 s/f, 420-unit elevator apartment complex. This property is under contract to sell for a reported $135 million. The sales price will equate to $321,428/unit and $268 per s/f. This is the 3^rd sale of this building since 2008 when it sold for $74 million. The second sale was for $85.25 million in June of 2013. The purchasers are Madison Realty Capital.

•  4111-4117 Crescent St. in Long Island City, aka “The Crescent Club” is a 150,000 s/f, 17-story, luxury elevator apartment building containing 130 units and a 6,000 s/f ground floor retail. The property, built in 2011, boasts a pool, rooftop lounge and parking garage. The property traded for $97 million. This sales price equates to a 4.5% cap rate, $646.66 per s/f and $746,153 per residential unit. The purchaser is Weiss Realty. The sellers are Bonjour Capital.

This was a very active first two months for the borough. As always, I will keep you posted to who is buying, who is selling, what new developments are rising and any new zoning initiatives, etc... Knowledge is power. Stay tuned.

Rubin Isak is the CEO of Falco & Isak Realty Services, Queens. N.Y.