Lions Group signs $61M construction loan with iCross for office project in Flushing
37-16 Union Street (Credit - Raymond Chan architect via DOB)
Lions Group through the entity ZL Macedonia Owner, LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender iCross Capital through the entity Union Street Lender LLC valued at $61 million for the planned 14-story office building at 37-16 Union Street in Flushing, Queens.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, 421767993, for a 129,661 square-foot office (B) building. The project was submitted by Lions Group and filed by Albert Shirian with plans filed June 5, 2020 and permitted January 6, 2025.
The deal closed on April 25, 2025 and was recorded on May 6, 2025. The prior lender was iCross Capital which held debt that had an original loan amount of $15 million. The loan price per planned zoning square foot is $471 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 June 12, 2018, for $11.8 million. The signatory for Lions Group was Albert Shirian . The signatory for iCross Capital was Lily Guo .
The property
The parcel has frontage of 109 feet and is 109 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,608 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-4 which allows for up to 3.4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 3.44 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.2 million. The most recent loan totaled $15 million and was provided by iCross Capital on October 27, 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 one DOB violation, $33,750 in ECB penalties, and $33,750 in OATH penalties in the last year.
The neighborhood
In Flushing, The bulk, or 45 percent of the 37.7 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space. In sales, Flushing has 2.5 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $669.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Queens. For development, Flushing has 1.8 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 2nd highest in Queens. It had 2.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 18 commercial properties representing 180,599 square feet of the 318,716 square feet. The largest owner is F&T Group, followed by Solil Management.
On the tax block, there were four new building construction projects totaling 396,140 square feet. The largest is a 151,076 square-foot building submitted by F&T Group and filed by Richard Siu with plans filed March 19, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 129,661 square-foot business (B) building submitted by Lions Group and filed by Albert Shirian with plans filed June 5, 2020 and permitted January 6, 2025.
The majority, or 38 percent of the 318,716 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 26 percent of the space.
The borrower
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lions Group owned at least 13 commercial properties with 496 residential units in New York City with 375,258 square feet and a city-determined market value of $103.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $257.4 million in debt, with top three lenders as Greystone & Co., Bank Leumi, and Ladder Capital respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 84 percent of the 375,258 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 10 percent of the space. The bulk, or 79 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 20 percent of the space.
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