Camber signs $88.3M construction loan with Citibank for Far Rockaway rental, shelter

Camber Property Group through the entity BCD Housing Development Fund Corporation as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Citibank valued at $88.3 million for the 147-unit rental and 100-bed shelter development at 13-16 Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway, Queens.
The deal closed on August 1, 2022 and was recorded on September 15, 2022.
The signatory for Camber Property Group was Richard Gropper. The signatory for Citibank was Richard Gerwitz. This is to construct a 147-unit multifamily building and a 100-bed homeless shelter.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 13-16 Beach Channel Drive.

Prior sales and revenue

The owner according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is Jacob Gross, head officer. The business entity is Wra 1316 Llc. Out of the three properties, one with a total of 10,341 square feet of built space generated revenue of $131,549 per year.

The property

The 13-16 Beach Channel Drive parcel has frontage of 62 feet and is 168 feet deep with a total lot size of 11,095 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $693,000.The most recent loan totaled $8 million and was provided by CitiBank on April 1, 2022.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received three DOB violations and $2,500 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 147-unit, 109,233-square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Jacob Gross with plans filed July 23, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Far Rockaway, the majority, or 63 percent of the 12 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space. In sales, Far Rockaway has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $92.7 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Far Rockaway is the 6th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 5.4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 45 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 13-16 Beach Channel Drive, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 12 commercial properties representing 10,341 square feet of the 28,958 square feet. The identified owner is Camber Property Group.
There is one active new building construction project totaling 109,233 square feet. It is a 147-unit, 109,233-square-foot R-2 building developed by Jacob Gross with plans filed July 23, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 45 percent of the 28,958 square feet of built space are retail buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 43 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Camber Property Group owned at least 65 commercial properties in New York City with 5,002,471 square feet and a city-determined market value of $334.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $640.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Merchants Bank of Indiana, NYC Housing Development Corporation, and Greystone & Co. respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 93 percent of the 5,002,471 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 4 percent of the space. The bulk, or 79 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 16 percent of the space.

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