Rybak signs $71M construction loan for $166M condo project in Forest Hills

Rybak Development through the entity 78-29 Austin Street Holding LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender Valley National Bank valued at $71 million for the development parcel (V0) at 78-29 Austin Street in Forest Hills, Queens.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 91-unit, 150,780 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Charles Tsakh with plans filed August 8, 2022 and permitted September 27, 2022. On the tax lot, the most recent condominium plan was filed by 78-29 Austin Street Holdings LLC to create 98 residential units in a building at 78-29 Austin Street in Forest Hills, Queens, called Austin Condominium that has a $165.8 million sellout, according to an September 5, 2023 submission to the New York State Attorney General. The principals of the sponsor, 78-29 Austin Street Holdings LLC, were Sergey Rybak and Natalia Sorkin.

The deal closed on December 21, 2023 and was recorded on January 19, 2024. The prior lender was Valley National Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $11.9 million.The property has 34,920 square feet of built space and 64,419 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 64,419 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $2,033 and the price per buildable square foot is $1,102 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 29, 2022, for $20.9 million. The signatory for Rybak Development was Natalia Sorkin and Sergey Rybak. Rybak Development filed plans in 2022.

The property

The lot is irregular. The zoning is R6 which allows for up to 2.43 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $9.4 million. The most recent loan totaled $11.9 million and was provided by Valley National Bank on June 29, 2022.

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 four DOB violations, $12,400 in ECB penalties, and $12,400 in OATH penalties in the last year.=

The neighborhood

In Forest Hills, The majority, or 61 percent of the 14.7 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 12 percent of the space. In sales, Forest Hills has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $117.2 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Forest Hills has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 507,918 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the two commercial properties representing 32,920 square feet of the 65,840 square feet. The identified owner is Rybak Development.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 150,780 square feet. It is a 91-unit, 150,780 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Charles Tsakh with plans filed August 8, 2022 and permitted September 27, 2022.

The majority, or 50 percent of the 65,840 square feet of built space are development buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 50 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Rybak Development owned at least seven commercial properties with 56 residential units in New York City with 106,545 square feet and a city-determined market value of $36.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $273.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Valley National Bank, MF1 Capital, and Bank Leumi respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 35 percent of the 106,545 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 33 percent of the space. The bulk, or 67 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 33 percent of the space.

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