Lender takes back potential LIC dev site through $4.7M deed-in-lieu

UPDATED 4:15 p.m., February 25, 2025: The entity 23-10 44th Drive LLC in care of the lender Rosenthal & Rosenthal, acquired through a $4.7 million deed-in-lieu of foreclosure from Shafquat Chaudhary through the entity Soundview R.E., LLC,  the retail building (K1) at 23-10 44th Drive in Long Island City, Queens. The price per foot indicates it is a likely development site.
The deal closed on March 28, 2024 and was recorded on March 29, 2024. The property has 2,500 square feet of built space and 22,491 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 24,990 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,871 and the price per buildable square foot is $187 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 seller bought the property on December 3, 2003, for $615,000. The signatory for Shafquat Chaudhary was Shafquat Chaudhary, who also spells the first name Shafqat. The contract date was October 30, 2023. Rosenthal & Rosenthal previously provided Chaudhary a $5 million loan.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Rosenthal & Rosenthal had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Shafquat Chaudhary had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Long Island City has 2,500 square feet of built space and 22,491 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 24,990 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,499 square feet. The zoning is C5-3 which allows for up to 15 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $442,000.

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 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 Long Island City, The bulk, or 32 percent of the 60.1 million square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space. In sales, Long Island City has the 7th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Long Island City is the 7th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 6.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 10 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the five commercial properties representing 1,362,740 square feet of the 1,367,916 square feet. The two identified owners are Xiao Feng Zhang and Quadrum Global.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 99 percent of the 1.4 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Shafquat Chaudhary owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 57,820 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $11.8 million in debt, borrowed from Emerald Creek Capital. The portfolio consists of at least a single industrial property. It is located in Queens.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Rosenthal & Rosenthal owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 13,482 square feet and a city-determined market value of $3.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $8 million in debt, borrowed from Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 13,482 square feet of built space are retail properties, with industrial properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

Correction: A prior version of this post incorrectly reported the transfer was not a deed-in-lieu, but in fact it was a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

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