Lakhi Zoria pays $5.3M for mostly vacant lots in Kew Gardens, likely dev site

Lakhi Zoria through the entity 129 Metropolitan Ave LLC paid $5.3 million to Maurice Kohan through the entity 129 Metropolitan Group LLC for mostly vacant lots at 129-19 Metropolitan Avenue and at 129-11 Metropolitan Avenue in Kew Gardens, Queens. The space has been occupied by a used car dealer. This is a likely development site.
The deal closed on November 18, 2024 and was recorded on December 5, 2024. The two properties have 770 square feet of built space and 23,747 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 24,511 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $6,948 and the price per buildable square foot is $218 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 Maurice Kohan was Maurice Kohan. The signatory for Lakhi Zoria was Lakhi Singh Zoria. The contract date was November 17, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Lakhi Zoria purchased three properties in one transaction for a total of $4.8 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Maurice Kohan purchased six properties in four transactions for a total of $18.2 million and had not sold any properties over the same time period. Out of the two properties, one with a total of 770 square feet of built space generated revenue of $28,834 per year.

The property

The industrial building in Kew Gardens has 770 square feet of built space and 23,747 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 24,511 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 62 feet and is 105 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,368 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $351,000.

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 not received any significant violations 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 Kew Gardens, The bulk, or 47 percent of the 6.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space. In sales, Kew Gardens has the 43rd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Queens with $14.8 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Kew Gardens has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 114,441 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 129-19 Metropolitan Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the five commercial properties representing 770 square feet of the 18,051 square feet. The identified owner is Maurice Kohan.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 5,022 square feet. The largest is a two-unit, 2,511 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Mst. Nafiul Aklima with plans filed July 7, 2022 and permitted October 30, 2023. The second largest is a two-unit, 2,511 square-foot residential (R-3) building submitted by Mst. Nafiul Aklima with plans filed July 7, 2022 and permitted September 11, 2023.

The majority, or 59 percent of the 18,051 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 41 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Maurice Kohan owned at least 18 commercial properties with 197 residential units in New York City with 143,225 square feet and a city-determined market value of $25.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 99 percent of the 143,225 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with industrial properties next occupying 1 percent of the space. The bulk, or 77 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 12 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lakhi Zoria owned at least three commercial properties in New York City with 14,428 square feet and a city-determined market value of $4.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 14,428 square feet of built space are retail properties, with industrial properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

Direct link to Acris document. link