Robert Lumaj of Atlantis Development pays $2.9M for dev site in Astoria

Robert Lumaj, who leads Atlantis Development paid $2.9 million through a bankruptcy to Cojam Construction through the entity Cojam Construction, Inc. for the industrial building (E1) at 8-48 Astoria Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, and two adjacent vacant parcels. The expected use is ground up development.
The deal closed on February 26, 2026 and was recorded on March 3, 2026. The three properties have 2,440 square feet of built space and 14,582 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 17,022 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,172 and the price per buildable square foot is $168 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 Cojam Construction was Vincent Cortazar Sr. The signatory for Atlantis Development was Robert Lumaj . The case was 1-23-42813-ess , in US Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of New York.  The owner of the two-story, 2,440-square-foot commercial property at 8-48 Astoria Boulevard in Astoria, through the entity Cojam Construction, filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The principal of the owner entity, James Cortazar, was fighting his onetime business partner Victor Cortazar over control of the asset. Vincent Cortazar Sr. in the transfer documents was identified as a Plan Proponent.

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 8-48 Astoria Boulevard.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Atlantis Development purchased five properties in three transactions for a total of $11.7 million and sold two properties in two transactions for a total of $7.1 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Cojam Construction had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. Out of the three properties, one with a total of 2,440 square feet of built space generated revenue of $72,273 per year.

The property

The industrial building in Astoria has 2,440 square feet of built space and 14,582 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 17,022 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 72 feet and is 82 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,000 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 $415,000.

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 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 Astoria, The bulk, or 36 percent of the 40.2 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 31 percent of the space. In sales, Astoria has 2.5 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $808.2 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Queens. For development, Astoria has 1.5 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 5th highest in Queens. It had 2.3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 6 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There were 30 pre-foreclosure suit filed among other industrial buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On the tax block of 8-48 Astoria Boulevard, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the 11 commercial properties representing 26,047 square feet of the 44,530 square feet. The identified owner is Aki Development.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 34,556 square feet. The largest is a 30-unit, 20,704 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Brett Harris with plans filed January 19, 2018 and permitted August 2, 2018. The second largest is a nine-unit, 13,852 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Indra Fouche and filed by Indra Fouche with plans filed January 30, 2025 and permitted July 22, 2025.

The majority, or 58 percent of the 44,530 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Atlantis Development owned at least 10 commercial properties with 93 residential units in New York City with 9,630 square feet and a city-determined market value of $3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $38.7 million in debt, borrowed from UBS and Northeast Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 9,630 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with V0 properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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