Simkho Aranbayev pays $11.5M for retail in Jackson Heights, Astoria

Simkho Aranbayev paid $11.5 million for two properties in Queens including retail in Jackson Heights at 94-11 37th Avenue and mixed-use in Astoria at 35-02 30th Avenue, in two separate transactions.

In the larger transaction, Simkho Aranbayev through the entity 105-16 Flat LLC paid $9.5 million to Helen Harris and Rosalie Harris through the entity Great Mid Atlantic Realty Corp. for the retail building (K1) at 94-11 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The deal closed on December 21, 2023 and was recorded on January 19, 2024. The property has 11,457 square feet of built space and 30,034 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 41,523 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $829 and the price per buildable square foot is $228 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.)

In the smaller transaction, Simkho Aranbayev through the entity Kane 30 LLC paid $2 million to Helen Harris and Rosalie Harris through the entity Great Mid Atlantic Realty Corp. for the four-unit mixed-use building (S9) at 35-02 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens.
The deal closed on December 21, 2023 and was recorded on January 19, 2024. The property has 4,100 square feet of built space and 1,900 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 6,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $487 and the price per buildable square foot is $333 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 Helen Harris and Rosalie Harris was Sanford Strenger. The signatory for Simkho Aranbayev was Simkho Aranbayev. The contract date was August 18, 2023. Helen Harris file petition to dissolve the corporation which is co-owned with Rosalie Harris, through Queens County index number 602952-2019. A receiver was appointed who owersaw the sale of the building. Simkho Aranbayev’s name is sometimes written as Simko Aranbayev or Simkho Aranbaev.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Simkho Aranbayev purchased four properties in three transactions for a total of $23.1 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Helen Harris had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Jackson Heights has 11,457 square feet of built space and 30,034 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 41,523 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 121 feet and is 110 feet deep with a total lot size of 13,841 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 $2.1 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 received two DOB violations, $5,000 in ECB penalties, and $6,585 in OATH penalties 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 Jackson Heights, The bulk, or 42 percent of the 16.4 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space. In sales, Jackson Heights has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $137.1 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Jackson Heights has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 332,501 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 2 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 19 commercial properties representing 300,563 square feet of the 389,540 square feet. The largest owner is Yousf Eid, followed by Pankaj Prasad and then Mary Brattis.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 389,540 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Simkho Aranbayev owned at least 26 commercial properties with 24 residential units in New York City with 161,712 square feet and a city-determined market value of $34.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $16.5 million in debt, borrowed from Signature Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 55 percent of the 161,712 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 37 percent of the space. The bulk, or 48 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 32 percent of the space.

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