Ke An Chen signs $18M construction loan in East Harlem

Ke An Chen through the entity KJ East 111 Realty LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Ponce Bank through the entity Ponce Bank valued at $18 million for four development properties including the development building (V1) at 170 East 111th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, development building (V1) at 168 East 111th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, and development building (V1) at 164 East 111th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan.

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 42-unit, 29,232 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Ke An Chen with plans filed August 27, 2019 and permitted September 12, 2023.

The deal closed on February 2, 2024 and was recorded on February 16, 2024. The four properties have zero square feet of built space and 29,268 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 29,268 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $615 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 Ke An Chen was Ke An Chen.

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 170 East 111th Street.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Ke An Chen, head officer and Jian Hui Chen, shareholder. The business entity is Kj East 111 Realty Llc.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 18 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 1,817 square feet. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $563,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received three DOB violations, $37,400 in ECB penalties, and $37,950 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In East Harlem, The majority, or 51 percent of the 52.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, East Harlem has 1.4 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $411.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 25th highest in Manhattan. For development, East Harlem has 1.9 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 16th highest in Manhattan. It had 1.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There were three pre-foreclosure suit filed among other development buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On the tax block of 170 East 111th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 27 commercial properties representing 130,229 square feet of the 251,820 square feet. The largest owner is United States Postal Service, followed by Lemle & Wolff and then Ke An Chen.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 29,232 square feet. It is a 42-unit, 29,232 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Ke An Chen with plans filed August 27, 2019 and permitted September 12, 2023.

The majority, or 39 percent of the 251,820 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Ke An Chen owned at least three commercial properties with 24 residential units in New York City with 17,596 square feet and a city-determined market value of $1.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $7.5 million in debt, borrowed from Cathay Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 17,596 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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