Simkho Aranbayev pays $3.5M for retail in Astoria

Simkho Aranbayev through the entity 30-13 Steinway LLC paid $3.5 million to Kevin Foley-Littell through the entity Libbgold Realty LLC for the two-unit mixed-use retail building (K4) at 30-13 Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on October 4, 2024 and was recorded on October 25, 2024. The property has 7,575 square feet of built space for a total buildable of 7,581 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $462 and the price per buildable square foot is $461 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 Kevin Foley-Littell was Kevin Foley-Littell. The signatory for Simkho Aranbayev was Simkho Aranbayev. The contract date was August 7, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Simkho Aranbayev purchased seven properties in seven transactions for a total of $35 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $2.8 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Kevin Foley-Littell had not purchased any other properties and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $1.7 million over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Kevin Foley-Littell, head officer and Bernard Goldstein, officer. The business entities are Bedford Management Co. and Libbgold Realty, Llc.

The property

The mixed-use building with two residential units in Astoria has 7,575 square feet of built space for a total buildable of 7,581 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 57 feet deep with a total lot size of 2,527 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C4-2A which allows for up to 3 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 3 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1.3 million.

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 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 2.3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $573.8 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 3rd highest in Queens. For development, Astoria has 2.3 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 2nd highest in Queens. It had 2.6 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 was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other mixed-use buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the 32 commercial properties representing 18,680 square feet of the 207,566 square feet. The two identified owners are Bldg Management and Simkho Aranbayev.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 207,566 square feet of built space are mixed-use buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Simkho Aranbayev owned at least 30 commercial properties with 30 residential units in New York City with 211,064 square feet and a city-determined market value of $44.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $27.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as Signature Bank, Provident Bank, and Union Savings Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 60 percent of the 211,064 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 34 percent of the space. The bulk, or 39 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 34 percent of the space.

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