Grocer pays $8.7M for former Rite Aid location in Ridgewood

Martin Espinal, a grocer who owns City Fresh Market, through the entity The Grandview Of Queens LLC paid $8.7 million to George L. Malin and William N. Weidman for the retail building (K1) at 583 Grandview Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens.
The deal closed on February 20, 2024 and was recorded on February 28, 2024. The property has 10,000 square feet of built space and 31,655 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 41,652 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $866 and the price per buildable square foot is $207 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 George L. Malin and William N. Weidman was George L. Malin and William N. Weidman. The signatory for City Fresh Market was Martin A. Espinal. The contract date was November 30, 2023. The Queens Chronicle reported in August 2023 that the Rite Aid at the location would be closing in September. Martin Espinal owns City Fresh Market. City Fresh Market also uses the name City Fresh Supermarket

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer City Fresh Market had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller George L. Malin had not purchased any other properties and sold one property in one transactions for a total of $11 million over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Ridgewood has 10,000 square feet of built space and 31,655 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 41,652 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 200 feet and is 102 feet deep with a total lot size of 20,826 square feet. The zoning is R6B which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.8 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 $50 in OATH penalties 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 Ridgewood, The bulk, or 38 percent of the 20 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Ridgewood has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $330 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 5th highest in Queens. For development, Ridgewood has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 403,418 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 2 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the seven commercial properties representing 42,612 square feet of the 54,312 square feet. The largest owner is William N. Weidman, followed by Gioacchino Milazzo and then Frieda Hocevar.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 45 percent of the 54,312 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 37 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that George L. Malin owned at least 12 commercial properties with two residential units in New York City with 158,077 square feet and a city-determined market value of $31.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 57 percent of the 158,077 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 43 percent of the space. The bulk, or 49 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 45 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that William N. Weidman owned at least 12 commercial properties with two residential units in New York City with 158,077 square feet and a city-determined market value of $31.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 57 percent of the 158,077 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 43 percent of the space. The bulk, or 49 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 45 percent of the space.

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