Mortar Group signs $18M refi loan with Hirshmark Capital for 29-unit building in Astoria

UPDATED 2:25 p.m., August 12, 2024: Mortar Group through the entity Npl Mortar Owner LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Hirshmark Capital through the entity 1132 31 Ave Funding LLC valued at $18 million for the 29-unit building at 11-32 31st Avenue in Astoria, Queens.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project, 421133295, for a 29-unit, 29,900 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Mortar Group and filed by Anthony Morena with plans filed September 28, 2020 and permitted October 22, 2021. On the tax lot, the most recent condominium plan was filed by NPL MORTAR LLC to create 28 residential units in a building at 11-32 31 Avenue in Astoria, Queens, called 11-32 31st Avenue Condominium that has a $32.6 million sellout, according to an February 06, 2023 submission to the New York State Attorney General. The principal of the sponsor, NPL MORTAR LLC, was Anthony Morena.
The deal closed on July 30, 2024 and was recorded on August 7, 2024. The prior lender was Popular Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $14.7 million.

The London-based U.K.-lender OakNorth Bank, provided a loan-on-loan as part of the financing package, as a participation lender in the capital stack, with a loan to Hirshmark Capital.

The property has zero square feet of built space and 28,000 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 28,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $602 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 22, 2021, for $5 million. The signatory for Mortar Group was Anthony Morena. The signatory for Hirshmark Capital was Abraham Goldman.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 46 feet and is 125 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,000 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $229,000. The most recent loan totaled $14.7 million and was provided by Popular Bank on July 22, 2021.

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 $21,150 in ECB penalties and $21,150 in OATH penalties in the last year.

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 2.4 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $632.8 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. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other development buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 11 commercial properties representing 107,500 square feet of the 145,780 square feet. The largest owner is Acquista Family, followed by Heracles Acquisition Fund and then Mortar.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 63,139 square feet. The largest is a 40-unit, 33,239 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Li Qing and filed by Li Qing with plans filed January 24, 2019 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 29-unit, 29,900 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Mortar Group and filed by Anthony Morena with plans filed September 28, 2020 and permitted October 21, 2021.

The majority, or 69 percent of the 145,780 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Mortar Group owned at least five commercial properties with 30 residential units in New York City with 28,347 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.4 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $29.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as DR Bank, Hirshmark Capital, and Popular Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 46 percent of the 28,347 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 35 percent of the space. The bulk, or 78 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 22 percent of the space.

UPDATED with the information related to the loan-on-loan from OakNorth Bank, which was recorded August 9, 2024.

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