SMJ Development signs $85.1M construction loan with city for development in Rego Park

SMJ Development and Settlement Housing Fund through the entity 68-19 Woodhaven Housing Development Fund Corp as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender NYC Housing Development Corporation valued at $85.1 million for the development building (V1) at 68-19 Woodhaven Boulevard in Rego Park, Queens.

On the lot, there is one active new building construction project for a 120-unit, residential (R-2) building. The project was submitted by Prosper Property Group and filed by Damien Smith under job number Q00584570 with plans filed September 3, 2021 and permitted April 15, 2022.
SMJ Development recently paid $20 million to Steven Croman for four buildings in Hell’s Kitchen.
The deal closed on June 26, 2024 and was recorded on July 3, 2024.
The owner bought the property on October 19, 2023, for $12.5 million. The signatory for SMJ Development and Settlement Housing Fund was Juan Barahona.

The property

The parcel has frontage of 229 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 26,151 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. The most recent loan totaled $13.7 million and was provided by Low Income Investment Fund on October 19, 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 not received any significant violations in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Rego Park, The majority, or 65 percent of the 10.6 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space. In sales, Rego Park has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $203.9 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Rego Park has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 198,047 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 one of the three commercial properties representing zero square feet of the 45,116 square feet. The identified owner is Smj Development.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 90,926 square feet. It is a 120-unit residential (R-2) building submitted by Prosper Property Group and filed by Damien Smith with plans filed September 3, 2021 and permitted April 15, 2022.

The majority, or 80 percent of the 45,116 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Settlement Housing Fund owned at least 34 commercial properties with 2,096 residential units in New York City with 2,178,188 square feet and a city-determined market value of $121 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $372.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as NYC Housing Development Corporation, Community Preservation Corporation, and UMB Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 73 percent of the 2,178,188 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 23 percent of the space. The bulk, or 66 percent of the built space, is in Bronx, with Brooklyn next at 24 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that SMJ Development owned at least four commercial properties with 101 residential units in New York City with 67,703 square feet and a city-determined market value of $9.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 59 percent of the 67,703 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with development properties next occupying 26 percent of the space. The bulk, or 74 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 26 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link