Rubin Equities signs $28M refi for newly built 69-unit rental in Jamaica

Rubin Equities through the entity 89 Ave Holdings LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Citibank through the entity Citi Real Estate Funding Inc valued at $28 million for the new construction 69-unit rental at 148-15 89th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.
On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 69-unit, 46,876 square-foot residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Rubin Equities and filed by Sam Rubin with plans filed April 14, 2022 and permitted January 26, 2023.
The deal closed on May 3, 2024 and was recorded on May 28, 2024. The prior lender was Popular Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $22 million.The property has zero square feet of built space and 54,700 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 54,700 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $N/A and the price per buildable square foot is $511 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 owner bought the property on June 13, 2022, for $5.3 million. The signatory for Rubin Equities was Sam Rubin. The signatory for Citibank was Ana Rosu Marmann.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 211 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,675 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $460,000. The most recent loan totaled $20.9 million and was provided by Popular Bank on March 14, 2023.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received three housing violations in the last year.

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 $305.4 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 6th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has 2.2 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Queens. It had 2.4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the eight commercial properties representing 585,014 square feet of the 585,014 square feet. The largest owner is Zara Realty Holding, followed by Sam Rubin and then Mary Partridge.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 46,876 square feet. It is a 69-unit, 46,876 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Rubin Equities and filed by Sam Rubin with plans filed April 14, 2022 and permitted December 7, 2022.

The majority, or 95 percent of the 585,014 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 5 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link