Century Development signs $35.2M refi with Webster Bank for 109-unit condo project in Jamaica

Century Development Group through the entity 88 Ave Realty De LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Webster Bank through the entity Webster Bank, National Association valued at $35.2 million for the 109-unit residential condominium project at 148-37 88th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The project has a $65.1 million sellout value for the residential condo units.
The deal closed on October 6, 2022 and was recorded on October 21, 2022. The prior lender was MF1 Capital which held debt that had an original loan amount of $30 million.The property has 84,458 square feet of built space and 12,890 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 97,288 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $416 and the price per buildable square foot is $361 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 owner bought the property on May 8, 2014, for $5.4 million. The signatory for Century Development Group was George Xu. The signatory for Webster Bank was Olga Bogrova.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development include George Xu, head officer and Zhidong Wu, shareholder. The business entity is 88 Ave Realty LLC.

The property

The 148-37 88th Avenue parcel has frontage of 140 feet and is 140 feet deep with a total lot size of 24,322 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $6.9 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 109-unit, 84,458 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was developed by George Xu with plans filed July 16, 2014 and permitted August 25, 2017. On the tax lot, the most recent condominium plan was filed by 88 Ave Realty, LLC  to create 109 residential units in a building at 148-37 88th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, called Jamaica Towers that has a $65.1 million sellout, according to an August 26, 2019 submission to the New York State Attorney General.The principals of the sponsor, 88 Ave Realty, LLC, were Gq Holdings, LLC and George Xu.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 15 commercial properties representing 134,528 square feet of the 238,926 square feet. The two identified owners are Century Development Group and Friedman Management.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 180,720 square feet. The largest is a 109-unit, 84,458-square-foot R-2 building developed by George Xu with plans filed July 16, 2014 and permitted August 25, 2017. The second largest is an 80-unit, 79,480-square-foot R-2 building developed by Chung Lam with plans filed September 1, 2017 and permitted June 7, 2022.

The majority, or 56 percent of the 238,926 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 23 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Century Development Group owned at least 38 commercial properties in New York City with 528,178 square feet and a city-determined market value of $68.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $246.2 million in debt, with top three lenders as Maxim Capital Group, Sovcombank, and MidFirst Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 528,178 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with hotel properties next occupying 32 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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