GFI Capital sells 335-key JFK hotel for $79.2M to Bayrock Capital

UPDATED 12:00 p.m., March 13, 2024: Bayrock Capital through the entity Crowne Partners LLC paid $79.2 million to GFI Capital Resources Group through the entity Idlewild Realty, LLC for the 335-unit Crowe Plaza JFK Airport hotel building (H3) at 138-10 135th Avenue in South Ozone Park, Queens. The buyer was not disclosed in property records but a source familiar with the transaction identified the buyer as Bayrock Capital.
The deal closed on March 6, 2024 and was recorded on March 12, 2024. The property has 233,210 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $339 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 seller bought the property on April 21, 2017, for $58.1 million. The signatory for GFI Capital Resources Group was Joel Rosen. The signatory for Bayrock Capital  was the attorney Daniel Cohen of Jeffrey Zwick & Associates. The contract date was March 6, 2024. This is the 335-key Crowne Plaza JFK Airport operated by IHG Hotels & Resorts.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Jeffrey Zwick & Associates registered purchased four properties in four transactions for a total of $72.9 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller GFI Capital Resources Group had not purchased any other properties. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Allen Gross, head officer and George Drepaul, site manager. The business entity is Idlewild Realty Llc.

The property

The hotel building with 335 residential units in South Ozone Park has 233,210 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 250 feet and is 266 feet deep with a total lot size of 75,700 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-2 which allows for up to 3.4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 2.43 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $39.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $1,250 in ECB penalties and $8,475 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on January 24, 2014. 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 South Ozone Park, The bulk, or 27 percent of the 6.3 million square feet of commercial built space are mixed-use buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space. In sales, South Ozone Park has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $185.6 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, South Ozone Park has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 477,692 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

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the three commercial properties representing 233,210 square feet of the 433,083 square feet.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 433,083 square feet of built space are hotel buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Gfi Capital Resources Group owned at least five commercial properties with 38 residential units in New York City with 204,233 square feet and a city-determined market value of $72 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 81 percent of the 204,233 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with elevator properties next occupying 15 percent of the space. The bulk, or 81 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Manhattan next at 19 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Jeffrey Zwick & Associates Registered owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 145,641 square feet and a city-determined market value of $27.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 86 percent of the 145,641 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with specialty properties next occupying 12 percent of the space. The bulk, or 55 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 33 percent of the space.
UPDATED: An earlier version of this story did not disclose Bayrock Capital as the buyer. The story has been updated with the buyer.

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