New Empire Corp. signs $42M construction loan with Popular Bank for 59-unit condo in Kips Bay

New Empire Corp. through the entity NERE Kips Bay Management LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Popular Bank valued at $42 million for the 59-unit condominium project at 429 Second Avenue in Kips Bay, Manhattan.
On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 59-unit, 44,571 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by New Empire Corp. and filed by Bentley Zhao with plans filed May 6, 2022 and permitted April 18, 2023. On one of the tax lots, the most recent condominium plan was filed by NERE Kips Bay Management LLC to create 59 residential units in a building at 429 Second Avenue in Kips Bay, Manhattan, called 429 2nd Avenue Condominiumthat has a $85.9 million sellout, according to an April 17, 2023 submission to the New York State Attorney General. The principal of the sponsor, NERE Kips Bay Management LLC, was Bentley Zhao.

The deal closed on September 21, 2023 and was recorded on October 11, 2023. The prior lender was Popular Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $7.4 million.
The signatory for New Empire Corp. was Bentley Zhao. The signatory for Popular Bank was Dean Saltzman.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received 11 DOB violations, and $2,400 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Kips Bay, The bulk, or 50 percent of the 21.5 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 32 percent of the space. In sales, Kips Bay has 2.5 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $882.6 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 15th highest in Manhattan. For development, Kips Bay has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 587,300 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 429 2nd Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of 17 of the 24 commercial properties representing 189,020 square feet of the 314,322 square feet. The largest owner is Roni Abudi, followed by New Empire Corp. and then Meyerson Management.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 44,571 square feet. It is a 59-unit, 44,571 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by New Empire Corp. and filed by Bentley Zhao with plans filed May 6, 2022 and permitted April 18, 2023.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 314,322 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 16 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that New Empire Corp. owned at least 16 commercial properties with 336 residential units in New York City with 184,876 square feet and a city-determined market value of $47.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $319.5 million in debt, with top three lenders as Fortress Investment Group, Popular Bank, and Axos Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 40 percent of the 184,876 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with D6 properties next occupying 26 percent of the space. The bulk, or 50 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 46 percent of the space.

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