Related, Sterling pay $12.3M to Benaim x Partners for two properties in Willets Point

Related Companies and Sterling Equities through the entity QDG II Acquisitions LLC paid $12.3 million to Benaim x Partners through the entity Jyb 126 LLC for the industrial building (G2) at 126-16 Northern Boulevard Sr South in Willets Point, Queens and specialty building (Z9) at 126-17 34th Avenue in Willets Point, Queens.
The deal closed on January 11, 2024 and was recorded on January 17, 2024. The two properties have 4,880 square feet of built space and 63,302 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 68,108 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $2,520 and the price per buildable square foot is $180 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 Benaim x Partners was Eric Benaim. The signatory for Related Companies and Sterling Equities was Frank Monterisi. The contract date was February 22, 2022. PincusCo reported on the contract memorandum, recorded in in March 2023.

Raphy Benaim, Eric Benaim’s father, was the former owner of the property. Raphy died in December 2023.

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 126-16 Northern Bl Sr South.

Related Companies and Sterling Equities are planning to construct a 3.3 million square foot mixed-use development in Willets Point, Queens.

Related and Sterling are developing the Willets Point plan that calls for 2,500 units of 100 percent affordable housing, a soccer stadium, a new school, a 250-key hotel as well as open space. The parcels recorded under contract are in the footprint of one of the residential buildings north of the soccer stadium. Most of the land for the overall project is owned by the City of New York.

In the memorandum document, Related Companies and Sterling Equities through the entity QDG

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Related Companies purchased four properties in one transactions for a total of $61 million and sold 11 properties in nine transactions for a total of $466.2 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Benaim x Partners had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. Out of the two properties, one with a total of 4,880 square feet of built space generated revenue of $124,711 per year.

The property

The industrial building in Willets Point has 4,880 square feet of built space and 63,302 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 68,108 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 60 feet and is 283 feet deep with a total lot size of 11,400 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-4 which allows for up to 3.4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 3.44 times FAR for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $682,000.

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 $1,000 in OATH penalties 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 Willets Point, The majority, or 75 percent of the 834,702 square feet of commercial built space are industrial buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 19 percent of the space. In sales, Willets Point has the 67th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Queens with $0 in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Willets Point has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 8,896 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 1 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 126-16 Northern Bl Sr South, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the six commercial properties representing 4,880 square feet of the 58,326 square feet. The identified owner is Sterling Equities.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 82 percent of the 58,326 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 17 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Related Companies owned at least 178 commercial properties with 9,555 residential units in New York City with 21,530,381 square feet and a city-determined market value of $6 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $5.1 billion in debt, with top three lenders as Wells Fargo, Carlyle Group, and Deutsche Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 45 percent of the 21,530,381 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with office properties next occupying 30 percent of the space. The bulk, or 60 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 24 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Sterling Equities owned at least 28 commercial properties with 277 residential units in New York City with 1,536,564 square feet and a city-determined market value of $3.3 billion. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $27.1 million in debt, borrowed from Valley National Bank and New York Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 81 percent of the 1,536,564 square feet of built space are Q6 properties, with walkup properties next occupying 11 percent of the space. The bulk, or 82 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Brooklyn next at 17 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link