Azimuth pays $8.7M to Top Rock for dev site in Laurelton

Azimuth Development Group through the entity Bmad Merrick LLC paid $8.7 million to Top Rock Holdings through the entity 221-06 Merrick Blvd Partners LLC for the development building (V1) at 134-11 221st Street in Laurelton, Queens.
There is a new building construction project for a 81-unit, 72,130 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Myron Berman with plans filed January 17, 2020.

The sale closed on August 10, 2023 and was recorded on August 16, 2023.
The seller bought the property on December 2, 2022, for $7 million. The signatory for Top Rock Holdings was Vyacheslav Chertov. The signatory for Azimuth Development Group was Guido Subotovsky. The contract date was October 21, 2022.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Azimuth Development Group had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Top Rock Holdings purchased 11 properties in six transactions for a total of $132.3 million and sold three properties in three transactions for a total of $15.7 million over the same time period.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 147 feet and is 165 feet deep with a total lot size of 24,518 square feet. The zoning is R5D which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $622,000. The most recent loan totaled $8.4 million and was provided by 360 Capital Funding on June 30, 2021.

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 $625 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there are two active new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 74,255 square feet. The largest is a new building project for a 81-unit, 72,130 square-foot R-2 building submitted by Myron Berman with plans filed January 17, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a new building project for a 2,125 square-foot M building submitted by Myron Berman with plans filed June 4, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Laurelton, The bulk, or 26 percent of the 1.2 million square feet of commercial built space are retail buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space. In sales, Laurelton has the 41st highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Queens with $24.5 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Laurelton has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 32,434 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the two commercial properties representing 13,300 square feet of the 13,300 square feet. The two identified owners are Top Rock Holdings and Myron J. Berman.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 74,255 square feet. The largest is a 81-unit, 72,130 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Myron Berman with plans filed January 17, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 2,125 square-foot mercantile (M) building submitted by Myron Berman with plans filed June 4, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 13,300 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with development buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Top Rock Holdings owned at least 12 commercial properties with nine residential units in New York City with 172,650 square feet and a city-determined market value of $46.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $20.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Lightstone Group, Golden Bridge Funding, and Northwind Group respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 41 percent of the 172,650 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with M1 properties next occupying 39 percent of the space. The bulk, or 83 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Bronx next at 12 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Azimuth Development Group owned at least four commercial properties with 80 residential units in New York City with 149,420 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $25.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as KeyBank, Raza Development Fund, Inc., and EB-5 New York State respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 59 percent of the 149,420 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with D6 properties next occupying 34 percent of the space. The bulk, or 93 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 7 percent of the space.

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