Maheshchand Ratanji signs $13.1M construction loan for 105-unit hotel in Jamaica

Maheshchand M. Ratanji through the entity Liverpool Realty LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Parke Bank valued at $13.1 million for the development building (V1) at 144-02 94th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.
The deal closed on September 20, 2022 and was recorded on October 3, 2022. The property has zero square feet of built space and 33,088 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 33,088 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $394 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 July 13, 2018, for $3.4 million. The signatory for Maheshchand M. Ratanji was Maheshchand M. Ratanji.

The property

The 144-02 94th Avenue parcel has frontage of 44 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,400 square feet. The zoning is C6-3 which allows for up to 6 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 7.52 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $550,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received two DOB violations, $32,500 in ECB penalties, and $32,760 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 105-unit, 34,861 square-foot R-1 building. The project was developed by Nehalkumar Gandhi with plans filed March 28, 2019 and permitted July 28, 2021.

The neighborhood

In Jamaica, the bulk, or 29 percent of the 27.3 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space. In sales, Jamaica has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $308.3 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 5th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 3.1 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Queens. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 11 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 11 commercial properties representing 92,278 square feet of the 135,817 square feet. The two identified owners are Rocco Ron Romeo and Clinton Graham.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 34,861 square feet. It is a 105-unit, 34,861-square-foot R-1 building developed by Nehalkumar Gandhi with plans filed March 28, 2019 and permitted July 21, 2020.

The majority, or 63 percent of the 135,817 square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Maheshchand M. Ratanji owned at least 10 commercial properties in New York City with 186,627 square feet and a city-determined market value of $25.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $81 million in debt, with top three lenders as PCSB Bank, Webster Bank, and State Bank of Texas respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 95 percent of the 186,627 square feet of built space are hotel properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 5 percent of the space. The bulk, or 67 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Bronx next at 33 percent of the space.

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