Phipps Houses signs $98M construction loan for 185-unit affordable in Sunnyside

Affordable housing developer Phipps Houses through the entity 50-25 Barnett Housing Development Fund Corporation as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NYC Housing Development Corporation valued at $98 million for a 185-unit development project at 50-25 Barnett Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens. Sunnyside is one of the neighborhoods with the lowest amount of new construction, according to a PincusCo analysis of new building plans. This is also the largest project by number of units filed in Sunnyside in at least the past 10 years.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 185-unit, 160,358 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project under index number 421134132, was submitted by Phipps Houses and filed by Michael Wadman with plans filed February 16, 2022 and permitted July 3, 2024.
The deal closed on June 26, 2024 and was recorded on July 15, 2024. The property has a total buildable of 179,997 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per buildable square foot is $544 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 Phipps Houses was Kelly Biscuso.

The property

The industrial building in Sunnyside has 200 square feet of built space and 179,997 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 179,997 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 559 feet and is 149 feet deep with a total lot size of 59,999 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.3 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 not received any significant violations in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Sunnyside, The bulk, or 32 percent of the 16 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Sunnyside has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $143.8 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Sunnyside has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 523,731 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. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other industrial buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the 10 commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 123,522 square feet. The identified owner is Lirr.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 153,978 square feet. It is a 185-unit, 160-358 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Phipps Houses and filed by Michael Wadman with plans filed February 16, 2022 and permitted July 3, 2024.

The majority, or 63 percent of the 123,522 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with office buildings next occupying 37 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Phipps Houses owned at least 96 commercial properties with 5,899 residential units in New York City with 5,741,607 square feet and a city-determined market value of $539.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $1.5 billion in debt, with top three lenders as NYC Housing Development Corporation, Citibank, and City of New York respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 70 percent of the 5,741,607 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 16 percent of the space. The bulk, or 47 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Manhattan next at 34 percent of the space.

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