Quran Academy for Young Scholars pays $4.2M for likely dev site in Jamaica

Quran Academy for Young Scholars paid $4.2 million to Iglesia Alianza Cristiana y Misionera Hispana de Queens for the three-unit specialty building (M1) at 166-15 89th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens and industrial building (G7) at 166-19 89th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.
The deal closed on January 23, 2024 and was recorded on February 5, 2024. The two properties have 3,780 square feet of built space and 35,191 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 38,943 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,111 and the price per buildable square foot is $107 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 Iglesia Alianza Cristiana y Misionera Hispana de Queens was Patricia Arias. The signatory for Quran Academy for Young Scholars was Abdullah al Arabi. The contract date was November 4, 2022.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 166-15 89th Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Quran Academy for Young Scholars had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Iglesia Alianza Cristiana y Misionera Hispana de Queens had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The specialty building with 3 residential units in Jamaica has 3,780 square feet of built space and 35,191 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 38,943 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 51 feet and is 128 feet deep with a total lot size of 6,581 square feet. 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 $577,000.

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 five DOB violations 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 $293 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 6th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 3.2 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 11 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 166-15 89th Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the five commercial properties representing 171,170 square feet of the 235,870 square feet. The identified owner is Zara Realty Holding.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 26,974 square feet. The largest is a 20-unit, 14,010 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Mohammad Islam with plans filed June 20, 2017 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 20-unit, 12,964 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Fazle Abbas Devjiyani with plans filed January 21, 2022 and permitted April 14, 2023.

The majority, or 96 percent of the 235,870 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 4 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link