Richard Watson pays $5M for medical retail in Laurelton

Richard Watson through the entity Emerge Capital – QB LLC paid $5 million to Samuel B. Akuoku through the entity Vas Development Corp for the retail building (O5) at 224-14 to 224-22 Merrick Boulevard in Laurelton, Queens.
The deal closed on January 26, 2024 and was recorded on February 6, 2024. The six property has 14,000 square feet of built space and 7,035 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 21,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $357 and the price per buildable square foot is $238 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 Samuel B. Akuoku was Samuel B. Akuoku. The signatory for Richard O. Watson was Richard O. Watson. The contract date was January 9, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Richard O. Watson had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Samuel B. Akuoku had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Laurelton has 14,000 square feet of built space and 7,035 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 21,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 105 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,500 square feet. The zoning is R5D which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $3.8 million.

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 $255 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 Laurelton, The bulk, or 26 percent of the 1.2 million square feet of commercial built space are retail buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space. In sales, Laurelton has the 44th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Queens with $18.8 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Laurelton has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 85,793 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 7 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 78 percent of the 17,950 square feet of built space are retail buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

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