With a vast selection of commercial properties, Queens is a great place to find new investments

Despite all the perceived negative global and national commercial real estate news, the second largest borough in New York City (by population) is shrugging off any bad news and steadily moving forward. With a vast selection of property types ranging from mixed-use buildings to industrial buildings and over 320,000 multifamily housing units (5 family buildings and greater), the borough of Queens is an excellent place to find value in commercial properties. With two major airports, a sophisticated mass transportation system and easy access around the metropolitan area via the state highways and expressways, Queens is an exciting borough with a thriving economy and growth potential. The biggest attraction to Queens commercial real estate is the amount of neighborhoods-92 approximate neighborhoods-and couple that with the population makeup of each individual neighborhood. These two factors greatly affect the value and landscape of the Queens commercial real estate sector. The commercial real estate industry has had much success in the recent years and will continue to move forward albeit at a slower pace. With over 1,300 commercial real estate transactions last year in Queens, this borough has presented itself as resilient in challenging economic times. Granted, the number of transactions are off by 25% from its 2006 highs but compared to the national level, the figures are respectable. The retail trade as a whole has many elements and the old "location" mantra holds true when discussing this sector. As stated in the second paragraph, the prime neighborhoods are located near rail lines. From Long Island City in the West and Bayside in the East, many neighborhoods have the distinction of being prime retail corridors. Astoria has Steinway St. crossing Broadway, Woodside has parts of Roosevelt Ave. and Queens Blvd., Elmhurst has Broadway and Roosevelt Ave., Jamaica has Jamaica Ave., Flushing has Main St. and Forest Hills has Austin St. These six neighborhoods are the primary areas for retail in Queens. The retail rents on these streets can demand over $100 per s/f in some areas. A good amount of national/regional retail chains and banks have a presence in these neighborhoods. Even in a challenging economy, landlords and lessees feel confident that a heavily populated retail location can remain vibrant and unscathed. The keystone of the Queens commercial real estate sector is multifamily housing. There are over 320,000 multifamily units (five family buildings and greater) in Queens and the demand to own a portion of these units has consistently grown. Over the past couple of years investors that wanted better asset returns, turned to the outer boroughs. Queens benefited from a solid 2008 with record number of total units traded. A large portfolio of 47 buildings containing 1,968 units traded in the first quarter 2008 and the majority of these buildings were located in central and western Queens. In addition, 2008 had many notable multi-family transactions that occurred in the Rego Park, Elmhurst, Flushing and Jamaica neighborhoods and these properties surrounded mass transportation hubs. The majority of these transactions occurred with very low capitalization rates and high gross rent multiples and that was consistent throughout 2008. This trend will continue in 2009 because of the willingness of banks to focus their lending on multifamily properties and the lack of asset supply. Where does Queens County go from here? Key projects that will steal the spotlight this year will be the Willets Point Iron Triangle debate, continued rezoning of neighborhoods, the Long Island City waterfront condominium developments, the development of the Flushing waterfront, the expansion of office and hotel development in Long Island City and the Vornado Realty Rego Park Mall project. 2009 will be a year that most Queens residents have not experienced in some time but the optimism is still present. The population will continue to grow and housing will continue to be in demand and that will be the trickle effect that will support the retail and industrial industries. Take a walk down Roosevelt Ave. in Elmhurst, Continental Ave. in Forest Hills, Main St. in Flushing or maybe go to the Queens Center Mall to shop and you will see that the economy in Queens is alive. John Falco is president and co-founder of Falco & Isak Realty Services, Maspeth, Queens, N.Y.