Werwaiss Properties signs $110M construction loan with AIG for 240-unit project in LIC

Werwaiss Properties through the entity 42nd Road LIC Property Owner LLC as borrower signed a new construction loan with lender AIG through the entity Aig Asset Management (U.S.), LLC valued at $110 million for two properties including the industrial building (G1) at 23-02 42nd Road in Long Island City, Queens.
On these lots, Werwaiss has filed two new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 163,147 square feet. The largest is a new building project for a 240-unit, 163,147 square-foot R-2 building developed by Gretchen Werwaiss with plans filed July 15, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a new building project for a S-2 building developed by Gretchen Werwaiss with plans filed November 2, 2021 and it has not been permitted yet.

The deal closed on March 6, 2023 and was recorded on March 9, 2023. The two properties have 3,000 square feet of built space and 150,532 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 153,596 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $36,666 and the price per buildable square foot is $716 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 Werwaiss Properties was John A. W. Werwaiss. The Werwaiss family acquired the property as part of a nine-property acquisition in 1974.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 23-02 42nd Road.

Prior sales and revenue

Out of the two properties, one with a total of 3,000 square feet of built space generated revenue of $109,950 per year.

The property

The 23-02 42nd Road parcel has frontage of 109 feet and is 186 feet deep with a total lot size of 20,425 square feet. The zoning is M1-5/R9 which allows for up to 5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing and up to 7.52 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $1 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have not received any significant violations in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Long Island City, the bulk, or 33 percent of the 62.1 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with industrial buildings next occupying 32 percent of the space. In sales, Long Island City has the 9th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.6 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Long Island City is the 4th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 8.8 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 14 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 409,034 square feet. The largest is a 240-unit, 245,887-square-foot R-2 building developed by Alex Adams with plans filed October 18, 2019 and permitted November 4, 2020. The second largest is a 240-unit, 163,147-square-foot R-2 building developed by Gretchen Werwaiss with plans filed July 15, 2021 and permitted March 24, 2022.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 3,000 square feet of built space are industrial buildings, with development buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

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