Ampiera Group signs $28M construction loan for 63-unit project in Sunnyside
Alex Lau’s Ampiera Group through the entity 4502 Sunnyside LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Ponce Bank valued at $28 million for the 63-unit development (V1) at 45-02 Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, Queens.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 63-unit, 57,771 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Alex Lau and filed by Alex Lau with plans filed April 14, 2022 and permitted May 31, 2022.
The deal closed on July 27, 2023 and was recorded on August 9, 2023. The loan price per construction square foot is $485 per the PincusCo analysis.
The owner bought the property on March 29, 2022, for $11 million. The signatory for Ampiera Group was Alex Lau. The signatory for Ponce Bank was Steven A. Tsavaris.
The property
The parcel has frontage of 124 feet and is 110 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,034 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-4A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 4 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.3 million.
Violations and lawsuits
There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $2,550 in OATH penalties in the last year.
The neighborhood
In Sunnyside, The bulk, or 32 percent of the 15.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Sunnyside has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $317.1 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 6th highest in Queens. For development, Sunnyside has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 624,920 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the eight commercial properties representing 5,148 square feet of the 66,373 square feet. The two identified owners are John Hodany and Ampiera Group.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 57,771 square feet. It is a 63-unit, 57,771 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Alex Lau and filed by Alex Lau with plans filed April 14, 2022 and permitted May 31, 2022.
The majority, or 53 percent of the 66,373 square feet of built space are retail buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 47 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ampiera Group owned at least five commercial properties with 87 residential units in New York City with 33,035 square feet and a city-determined market value of $12.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $36.7 million in debt, borrowed from Industrial and Commercial Bank Of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 33,035 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.
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