Hotelier Surjeet Kaur pays $6.8M to Koeppel family for retail blockfront in Jackson Heights

Hotel owner Surjeet Kaur through the entity 78 Investors, LLC paid $6.8 million to the Koeppel family for the retail building (K1) at 78-17 Northern Boulevard and the retail building (K1) at 78-01 Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, Queens. PincusCo expects this will be a ground up development.
The deal closed on November 4, 2024 and was recorded on November 19, 2024. The two properties have 10,450 square feet of built space and 9,500 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 20,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $650 and the price per buildable square foot is $340 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 Sandra Koeppel was Sandra Koeppel. The signatory for Surjeet Kaur was Joseph Misk. The contract date was October 28, 2024. Joseph Misk is an attorney.

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 78-17 Northern Boulevard.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Surjeet Kaur purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $6.2 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $8 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Sandra Koeppel had not purchased any other properties and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $2.5 million over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Jackson Heights has 10,450 square feet of built space and 9,500 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 20,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,000 square feet. The zoning is C8-1 which allows for up to 1 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

The properties were involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $5.5 million judgment concerning a appoint receiver filed on January 26, 2023, by Howard Koeppel against Daniel Koeppel. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $1,800 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 Jackson Heights, The bulk, or 42 percent of the 16.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space. In sales, Jackson Heights has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $161.6 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Jackson Heights has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 383,327 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 the tax block of 78-17 Northern Boulevard, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the three commercial properties representing 10,450 square feet of the 10,450 square feet. The two identified owners are Daniel Koeppel and City Of New York.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 10,450 square feet of built space are retail buildings, with development buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Surjeet Kaur owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 207,434 square feet and a city-determined market value of $39.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $96.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as State Bank of Texas, Preferred Bank, and Axos Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 96 percent of the 207,434 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with development properties next occupying 4 percent of the space. The bulk, or 82 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Bronx next at 18 percent of the space.

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