Church of Grace to Fujianese pays $4.1M for church in Dyker Heights, second purchase this year

Church of Grace to Fujianese paid $4.1 million to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America through the entity Metro Synod-Leds LLC for the church building (W2) at 1033 72nd Street and the specialty building (M1) at 1037 72nd Street in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. This was the church’s second New York City purchase this year.
The deal closed on December 18, 2023 and was recorded on December 26, 2023. The two properties have 7,740 square feet of built space and 8,458 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 16,197 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $526 and the price per buildable square foot is $251 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 signatory for Evangelical Lutheran Church In America was Robert Paul Schoepflin. The contract date was June 5, 2023.

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 1033 72nd Street.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Church of Grace to Fujianese purchased one property, 42-36 149 Street in Flushing from Amir Hagahani, in one transactions for a total of $3.4 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Evangelical Lutheran Church In America had not purchased any other properties and sold one properties in one transactions for a total of $4 million over the same time period.

The property

The specialty building in Dyker Heights has 7,740 square feet of built space and 8,458 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 16,197 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 60 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,999 square feet. The zoning is R5B which allows for up to 1.35 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $692,000.

Violations and lawsuits

The properties were involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $4.1 million judgment concerning a leave to sell filed on October 31, 2023, by Evangelical Lutheran Church In America as seller and Church of Grace to Fujianese New York as buyer. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have not received any significant violations in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Dyker Heights, The bulk, or 30 percent of the 7.1 million square feet of commercial built space are mixed-use buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space. In sales, Dyker Heights has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $133.1 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Dyker Heights has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 559,990 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 58 percent of the 8,552 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 42 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Church Of Grace To Fujianese owned at least one commercial property with one residential unit in New York City with 7,750 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single M1 property. It is located in Queens.

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