MTA pays $2.9M for first parcel in planned Jamaica Bus Depot expansion

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority paid $2.9 million to Fred Bauerschmidt through the entity Bauerschmidt Realty Holding Corp. for the industrial building (G4) at 106-04 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, which will be a portion of the planned $480 million expansion of the Jamaica Bus Depot. A 2022 hearing envisioned the MTA would acquire six properties on the tax block, including this one. This is the first of those six to be recorded as sold.
The deal closed on September 1, 2023 and was recorded on September 15, 2023. The property has 8,000 square feet of built space and 1,410 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 9,405 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $362 and the price per buildable square foot is $308 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 signatory for Fred Bauerschmidt was Fred Bauerschmidt. The signatory for Metropolitan Transportation Authority was David Florio. The contract date was April 12, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Metropolitan Transportation Authority purchased three properties in two transactions for a total of $90.9 million and sold four properties in one transactions for a total of $35.2 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Fred Bauerschmidt had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The industrial building in Jamaica has 8,000 square feet of built space and 1,410 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 9,405 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 80 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,405 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-1 which allows for up to 1 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $542,000.

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 received $50 in OATH penalties 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 Jamaica, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 29.2 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space. In sales, Jamaica has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $406.4 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 5th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 3.9 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Queens. It had 3.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 13 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 3,798 square feet. It is a 3,798 square-foot mercantile (M) building submitted by Joseph Atarien with plans filed April 23, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 57 percent of the 102,328 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 40 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Metropolitan Transportation Authority owned at least six commercial properties in New York City with 2,704,468 square feet and a city-determined market value of $870.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 2,704,468 square feet of built space are office properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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