Bentley Zhao’s New Empire files plans for 14 units in Gravesend
Bentley Zhao files plan at 2795 Cropsey Avenue (Credit - Google)
Bentley Zhao, CEO of New Empire Corp. submitted a new building construction project for a 14-unit, 10,239 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 2795 Cropsey Avenue in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on March 9, 2023 under job number B00814172. It calls for the construction of a four-story building. The project is described in the filing as: construction of new building, four stories (no cellar or basement) of prefabricated modular units, mixed use residential, community facility and on-site off-street parking. The architect is Garrison Architects.
The property
The industrial building in Gravesend has 1,650 square feet of built space and 11,063 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 12,687 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The property is owned by New Empire Corp.. The parcel has frontage of 96 feet and is 125 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,150 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R5 which allows for up to 1.25 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $173,892.
Prior sales and revenue
This property was sold by Chao Qiang Yuan for $2.2 million to New Empire Corp. on August 5, 2022.
| wdt_ID | floor | comment | description | persons_permitted | occupancy_label | zoning_use | dwelling_units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Space | TWELEVE [12] OPEN SPACE PARKING SPOTS, COVERED BICYCLE STORAGE AREA 90SF FOR SEVEN [7] BICYCLES. | Parking Garage | N/A | Storage | 2B | |
| 2 | 1 | BUILDING LOBBY | Apartment | N/A | Residential | 2B | |
| 3 | 1 | ASSOCIATED UTILITY ROOMS | Storage of non combustible Materials | N/A | Storage | 2B | |
| 4 | 2 | FIVE [5] DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | 2A | 5 |
| 5 | 3 | FIVE [5] DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | 2A | 5 |
| 6 | 4 | FOUR [4] DWELLING UNITS | Apartment | N/A | Residential | 2A | 4 |
| 7 | Roof | STAIR AND ELEVATOR BULK HEAD | Apartment | N/A | Residential | 2B | |
| floor | comment | description | persons_permitted | occupancy_label | zoning_use | dwelling_units |
Violations and lawsuits
According to city public data, the property has received $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.
There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.
The neighborhood
In Gravesend, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 18.7 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space. In sales, Gravesend has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $362.1 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 21st highest in Brooklyn. For development, Gravesend has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 13th highest in Brooklyn. It had 1.3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 7 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the five commercial properties representing 1,650 square feet of the 14,591 square feet. The identified owner is New Empire Corp.. On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 12,061 square feet. The largest is a 14-unit, 10,239 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by New Empire Corp. and filed by Bentley Zhao with plans filed March 9, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a one-unit, 1,822 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Chao Yuan with plans filed December 14, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.
The owner
The PincusCo database currently indicates that New Empire Corp. owned at least 17 commercial properties with 223 residential units in New York City with 333,350 square feet and a city-determined market value of $61.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $313.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Fortress Investment Group, Popular Bank, and Axos Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 38 percent of the 333,350 square feet of built space are D6 properties, with D7 properties next occupying 33 percent of the space. The bulk, or 60 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 35 percent of the space.
The surrounding
This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 2795 Cropsey Avenue in the past 24 months.
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.