Tsilo Group signs $38M construction loan with Ponce Bank for mixed-use in Astoria

Tsilo Group through the entity Bq 29, LLC as borrower signed a construction loan with lender Ponce Bank through the entity Ponce Bank valued at $38 million for the mixed-use building (K1) at 25-21 Broadway in Astoria, Queens.
The deal closed on June 30, 2022 and was recorded on July 27, 2022. The prior lender was Alma Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $2 million. The property has 27,000 square feet of built space and 23,011 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 50,025 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $1,407 and the price per buildable square foot is $759 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 Tsilo Group was George Tsilogiannis. The signatory for Ponce Bank was Carlos P. Naudon.

Prior sales and revenue

The 27,000-square-foot property generated revenue of $457,199 or $17 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 25-21 Broadway parcel has frontage of 135 feet and is 125 feet deep with a total lot size of 16,675 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 $2.3 million.The most recent loan totaled $6 million and was provided by Ponce Bank on June 30, 2022.

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 ECB penalties and $7,225 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Astoria, the bulk, or 37 percent of the 39.2 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Astoria has 3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $996.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 2nd highest in Queens. For development, Astoria has 3.7 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 4th highest in Queens. It had 3.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 10 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 50 commercial properties representing 201,570 square feet of the 512,765 square feet. The largest owner is LeFrak, followed by Viking Management and then Broadway Stages. There are three active new building construction projects totaling 169,310 square feet. The largest is a 30-unit, 24,170-square-foot R-2 building developed by Robert Cerrone with plans filed June 17, 2020 and permitted June 17, 2022. The second largest is a 14-unit, 14,025-square-foot R-2 building developed by Eric Belanich with plans filed June 6, 2019 and permitted December 27, 2019.

The majority, or 63 percent of the 506,833 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Tsilo Group owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 37,000 square feet and a city-determined market value of $3.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $6 million in debt, borrowed from Ponce Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 73 percent of the 37,000 square feet of built space are mixed-use properties, with retail properties next occupying 27 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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