Azimuth signs $6.7M ground lease Macchia Group for dev site in Sunset Park

Azimuth Development Group through the entity 4 Ave Property LLC as tenant signed a $6.7 million ground lease with the Macchia Group through the entity 4001 4th LLC as landlord for the gas station (G3) at 4001 4th Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The expected use is ground up development.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, B00933744, for a 36,756 square-foot building. The project was submitted by Shie Lefkowitz and filed by Shie Lefkowitz with plans filed September 28, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet.
The deal closed on January 21, 2025 and was recorded on February 6, 2025. The property has 1,860 square feet of built space and 38,164 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 40,068 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $3,602 and the price per buildable square foot is $167 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The landlord bought the property on September 9, 2008, for $1.5 million. The signatory for Macchia Group was George J. Macchia. The signatory for Azimuth Development Group was Guido Subotovsky. Traded reported the lease transaction was valued at $12 million and that the brokers were Michael Mazzara, Brendan Maddigan & Ethan Stanton  of JLL.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Azimuth Development Group purchased six properties in five transactions for a total of $30.9 million and sold two properties in one transaction for a total of $12 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Macchia Group purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $5.8 million and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The industrial building in Sunset Park has 1,860 square feet of built space and 38,164 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 40,068 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,017 square feet. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $604,000.

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 $200 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Sunset Park, The bulk, or 30 percent of the 35 million square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space. In sales, Sunset Park has 1.6 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $425.2 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 14th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Sunset Park has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had -1,315 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 0.00 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 23 commercial properties representing 63,800 square feet of the 125,023 square feet. The largest owner is Jack Geula, followed by Marguerite Behette and then Lan Hua Yuan.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 36,756 square feet. It is a 36,756 square-foot 57 building submitted by Shie Lefkowitz and filed by Shie Lefkowitz with plans filed September 28, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 76 percent of the 125,023 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Macchia Group owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 1,845 square feet and a city-determined market value of $889,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single industrial property. It is located in Brooklyn.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Azimuth Development Group owned at least nine commercial properties with 345 residential units in New York City with 172,873 square feet and a city-determined market value of $20 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $116.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, NYS Housing Finance Agency, and KeyBank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 51 percent of the 172,873 square feet of built space are specialty properties, with D6 properties next occupying 29 percent of the space. The bulk, or 81 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 19 percent of the space.

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