New Empire files $11M, 13-unit condo plan in Bensonhurst

Bentley Zhao’s New Empire Corp. through the entity Quality Building Enterprise LLC, filed to create 13 residential units and 1 commercial unit in a new construction building at 1548 72nd Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, called 1548 72nd Street Condominium that has a $11.4 million sellout, according to an November 17, 2022 submission to the New York State Attorney General. The principal of the sponsor, Quality Building Enterprise LLC, was Bentley Zhao.

Bentley Zhao of 1554 LLC submitted a new building construction project for a 13-unit, 14,085 square-foot residential (R-2) building at 1548 72nd Street. The plan was filed on November 1, 2017 and was permitted on June 22, 2022. It calls for the construction of a 36-foot tall, four-story building and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under job number 321191704.

The property

The property is owned by New Empire Corp. The parcel has frontage of 40 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 8,000 square feet. The zoning is R5 which allows for up to 1.25 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $829,000. The most recent loan totaled $6.9 million and was provided by BCB Community Bank on November 17, 2020.

Prior sales and revenue

This property was sold for $1.35 million on December 21, 2016.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received $625 in ECB penalties and $625 in OATH penalties in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Bensonhurst, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 16.5 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, Bensonhurst has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $322.5 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 22nd highest in Brooklyn. For development, Bensonhurst has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 29th highest in Brooklyn. It had 413,386 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 this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the 11 commercial properties representing 2,200 square feet of the 26,999 square feet. The two identified owners are Felice Carucci and New Empire Corp.. On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 26,067 square feet. The largest is a 13-unit, 14,085 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Bentley Zhao with plans filed November 1, 2017 and permitted December 1, 2021. The second largest is a nine-unit, 11,982 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Bentley Zhao with plans filed July 25, 2017 and it has not been permitted yet.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that New Empire Corp. owned at least 17 commercial properties with 223 residential units in New York City with 333,350 square feet and a city-determined market value of $61.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $313.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Fortress Investment Group, Popular Bank, and Axos Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 85 percent of the 333,350 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with retail properties next occupying 6 percent of the space. The bulk, or 60 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 35 percent of the space.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 1548 72 Street in the past 24 months.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.