iCross Capital signs $25M construction loan with Ponce Bank for development in Long Island City

iCross Capital through the entity Realty 38 LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Ponce Bank valued at $25 million for the development building (V1) at 28-08 38th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 50-unit, 42,877 square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Lily Guo with plans filed February 25, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.
The deal closed on January 4, 2023 and was recorded on January 10, 2023. The property has zero square feet of built space and 39,750 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 39,750 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data.
The owner bought the property on September 13, 2018, for $10.2 million. The signatory for iCross Capital was Lily Lijun Guo.

The property

The 28-08 38th Avenue parcel has frontage of 132 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,250 square feet. The zoning is M1-2/R6A which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 3 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.9 million.The most recent loan totaled $5.5 million and was provided by Lily Guo on July 8, 2020.

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 $150 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Long Island City, the bulk, or 33 percent of the 62.1 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 32 percent of the space. In sales, Long Island City has the 9th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.7 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Long Island City is the 5th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 8.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 14 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 14 commercial properties representing 19,920 square feet of the 112,492 square feet. The largest owner is Segun Kerry, followed by Ramandeep Kaur and then Lily Guo.
On the tax block, there were four new building construction projects totaling 77,066 square feet. The largest is a 50-unit, 42,877-square-foot R-2 building developed by Lily Guo with plans filed February 25, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.The second largest is a 13-unit, 14,328-square-foot R-2 building developed by Liyi Lu with plans filed December 6, 2018 and permitted June 9, 2020.

The majority, or 41 percent of the 112,492 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that iCross Capital owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 48,290 square feet and a city-determined market value of $4.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 90 percent of the 48,290 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with industrial properties next occupying 10 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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