Lightstone Group signs $67.2M refi with Apollo for 199-unit rental in LIC

Lightstone Group through the entity 50-01 2nd Street Associates LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Apollo Global Management through the entity Athene Annuity And Life Company valued at $67.2 million for the 199-unit residential elevator building (D8) at 50-01 2nd Street in Long Island City, Queens.
The deal closed on January 28, 2025 and was recorded on February 5, 2025. The prior lender was Series 2014-C19 which held debt that had an original loan amount of $74.5 million.The property has 172,993 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $388 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 owner bought the property on August 18, 2011, for $19.3 million. The signatory for Lightstone Group was Joseph E. Teichman. The signatory for Apollo Global Management was Michael Lotito.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Ariel Feldhamer, head officer and Jennifer Jennings, officer. The business entity is 50-01 2nd Street Associates, Llc. The 172,993-square-foot property generated revenue of $10.9 million or $63 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The residential elevator building with 199 residential units in Long Island City has 172,993 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 94 feet and is 265 feet deep with a total lot size of 25,109 square feet. The zoning is M1-5/R8A which allows for up to 5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 6.02 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The property has a 421A exemption that started in 2013 and expires in 2028. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $46.3 million. The property has 199 rent regulated units according to city tax records from 2023.

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 received $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on July 15, 2013. There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the two commercial properties representing 172,993 square feet of the 223,200 square feet. The identified owner is Lightstone Group.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 78 percent of the 223,200 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with office buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lightstone Group owned at least 34 commercial properties with 1,938 residential units in New York City with 2,338,149 square feet and a city-determined market value of $325.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $2 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Reznik Paz Nevo Trusts, JLL, and Goldman Sachs respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 74 percent of the 2,338,149 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with hotel properties next occupying 21 percent of the space. The bulk, or 45 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Manhattan next at 28 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link