Robert Gans sells Jamaica site for $9.2M through bankruptcy

Empire Automotive Group through the entity MB 108 Merrick Realty, LLC paid $9.2 million to Robert Gans through the entity 108 Merrick Boulevard LLC for the industrial building (E9) at 108-16 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens and industrial building (E9) at 108-02 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens.
This sale is under the auspices of the jointly administered bankruptcies Robert Gans filed for entities that controlled a mostly west side-portfolio. Extell Development and Bluestone Group control the debt. The bankruptcy case has been closed following the approval of the plan, which included the sale of this property.
The Jamaica sale closed on May 15, 2023 and was recorded on May 30, 2023. The two properties have 23,500 square feet of built space and 41,119 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 64,670 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $391 and the price per buildable square foot is $142 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 Robert Gans was William Henrich.

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 108-16 Merrick Boulevard.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Empire Automotive Group had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Robert Gans purchased one properties in one transactions for a total of $4.5 million and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The two properties with a total of 23,500 square feet of built space generated revenue of $340,622 per year or $14 per square foot. The sale price per square foot was $391.

The property

The industrial building in Jamaica has 23,500 square feet of built space and 41,119 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 64,670 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 102 feet and is 214 feet deep with a total lot size of 22,000 square feet. The lot is irregular. 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 $1.9 million. The most recent loan totaled 0.0 and was provided by Centennial Bank on April 15, 2022.

Violations and lawsuits

The properties were involved in four lawsuits and two bankruptcies over the past two years. The highest value suit was a $147.2 million judgment concerning a loan filed on January 20, 2022, by Bluestone Group against Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies. The highest value bankruptcy was filed on September 14, 2022, by Robert Gans citing assets of $200 million. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have not received any significant 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 $356.7 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 5th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 3.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Queens. It had 3.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 13 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 108-16 Merrick Boulevard, there are no active new building construction projects.

All properties are industrial.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Robert Gans owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 28,925 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $10.5 million in debt, borrowed from Titan Capital ID. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 88 percent of the 28,925 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with industrial properties next occupying 12 percent of the space. The bulk, or 88 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 12 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link