Maspeth Federal Savings pays $3.5M for retail in Astoria

The bank Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan Association paid $3.5 million for the retail and office building (O2) at 31-42 Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens. The Queens County Savings Bank, which was acquired by Flagstar Bank through several mergers, formerly occupied this building. This 25-foot wide parcel does not include the adjacent parking lot, owned by the New York State Department of Transportation.
The deal closed on June 25, 2024 and was recorded on July 2, 2024. The property has 2,875 square feet of built space and 3,870 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 6,750 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,217 and the price per buildable square foot is $518 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 signatories for sellers Marilyn Harris and Melissa Katz Fusco were Marilyn Harris and Melissa Katz Fusco. The contract date was May 7, 2024. The property was originally acquired by Samuel Katz, who died in June 1978, and the building was given over to his heirs, who sold it.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan Association had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Marilyn Harris had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The office building in Astoria has 2,875 square feet of built space and 3,870 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 6,750 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 90 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,250 square feet. The zoning is C4-2A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 3 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $797,000.

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 Astoria, The bulk, or 36 percent of the 40.2 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space. In sales, Astoria has 2.2 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $578.6 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 3rd highest in Queens. For development, Astoria has 2.7 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 2nd highest in Queens. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 7 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 12 of the 38 commercial properties representing 67,485 square feet of the 185,088 square feet. The largest owner is Wharton Properties, followed by TF Cornerstone and then Solil Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 185,088 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

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