Top Rock Holdings pays $7M for development in Laurelton

Developer Top Rock Holdings through the entity 221-06 Merrick Blvd Partners LLC paid $7 million to Myron J. Berman through the entity 221-06 Merrick Blvd Associates, LLC for development site (V1) at 134-11 221st Street at the corner of Merrick Boulevard  in Laurelton, Queens.
The deal closed on December 2, 2022 and was recorded on December 9, 2022.
The seller bought the property on August 14, 2006, for $4.1 million. The signatory for Myron J. Berman was Myron J. Berman. The signatory for Top Rock Holdings was Uri Mermelstein.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, Pincusco has records that the buyer Top Rock Holdings purchased five properties in five transactions for a total of $145 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $2.4 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Myron J. Berman had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The 134-11 221st Street parcel has frontage of 50 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,042 square feet. The zoning is R5D which allows for up to 2 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $541,000.The most recent loan totaled $8.4 million and was provided by 360 Capital Funding on June 30, 2021.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $625 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there are two active new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 74,255 square feet. The largest is a new building project for a 81-unit, 72,130 square-foot R-2 building developed by Myron Berman with plans filed January 17, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a new building project for a 2,125 square-foot M building developed by Myron Berman with plans filed June 4, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Laurelton, the bulk, or 26 percent of the 1.2 million square feet of commercial built space are mixed-use buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 25 percent of the space. In sales, Laurelton has the 44th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Queens with $19.7 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Laurelton has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 20,754 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 three of the three commercial properties representing 13,300 square feet of the 13,300 square feet. The identified owner is Myron J. Berman.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 74,255 square feet. The largest is a 81-unit, 72,130-square-foot R-2 building developed by Myron Berman with plans filed January 17, 2020 and it has not been permitted yet.The second largest is a N/A-unit, 2,125-square-foot M building developed by Myron Berman with plans filed June 4, 2014 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 13,300 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with development buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Myron J. Berman owned at least 30 commercial properties in New York City with 27,456 square feet and a city-determined market value of $4.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $13.7 million in debt, borrowed from 360 Capital Funding and Flushing Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 48 percent of the 27,456 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with office properties next occupying 37 percent of the space. The bulk, or 52 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 48 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Top Rock Holdings owned at least six commercial properties in New York City with 264,423 square feet and a city-determined market value of $81.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $12.2 million in debt, borrowed from Golden Bridge Funding and Northwind Group. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 40 percent of the 264,423 square feet of built space are office properties, with specialty properties next occupying 27 percent of the space. The bulk, or 53 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 36 percent of the space.

Direct link to Acris document. link