Chung Lam signs $21.4M construction loan with Popular Bank for 80-unit project in Jamaica

Chung Lam through the entity Hillside 168 Inc. as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank valued at $21.4 million for the development building (V1) at 148-18 Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.
The deal closed on March 28, 2022 and was recorded on September 16, 2022. The property has zero square feet of built space and 69,800 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 69,800 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $306 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 October 14, 2015, for $6 million. The signatory for Chung Lam was Chung Lam. The signatory for Popular Bank was Travis Schelhorn.

The property

The 148-18 Hillside Avenue parcel has frontage of 125 feet and is 138 feet deep with a total lot size of 17,450 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 $873,000.

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 $5,930 in ECB penalties and $5,930 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 80-unit, 79,480-square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Chung Lam with plans filed September 1, 2017.

The neighborhood

In Jamaica, the bulk, or 29 percent of the 27.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space. In sales, Jamaica has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $304.3 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 5th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 3.1 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Queens. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 11 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

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.
There are three active 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 a 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 Chung Lam owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 23,095 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $7.6 million in debt, borrowed from CTBC Bank. The portfolio consists of at least a single industrial property. It is located in Queens.

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