NuVerse Advisors signs $65.3M construction loan with Bank Hapoalim for 118-unit project in Astoria

NuVerse Advisors through the entity 3055 Vernon LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Bank Hapoalim valued at $65.3 million for the 118-unit development at 30-55 Vernon Boulevard in Astoria, Queens.
The deal closed on June 20, 2023 and was recorded on June 28, 2023.
The owner bought the property on August 25, 2022, for $25 million. The signatory for NuVerse Advisors was Dov Schlein.

Vicki Saali of 3055 Vernon LLC submitted a major alteration application to convert the existing two-story, 41,310 square-foot commercial (COM) building with no residential units to a nine-story, 116,033-square-foot residential building with 118 units. The plan was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on October 20, 2022 under job number Q00795057.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 179 feet and is 175 feet deep with a total lot size of 37,115 square feet. The lot is irregular. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.9 million.

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 three DOB violations, $625 in ECB penalties, and $7,475 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 3.2 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $1.1 billion in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Queens. For development, Astoria has 3.1 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 4th highest in Queens. It had 3.2 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the five commercial properties representing 24,000 square feet of the 27,470 square feet. The identified owner is Sunlight Development.
There are no other active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 87 percent of the 27,470 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that NuVerse Advisors owned at least two commercial properties with 148 residential units in New York City with 266,696 square feet and a city-determined market value of $6.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 69 percent of the 266,696 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with O8 properties next occupying 31 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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