Xiao Chu Zhou pays $14M for likely dev site in Elmhurst

Xiao Chu Zhou through the entity Us Ny Group LLC paid $14 million to James Kwang Lee through the entity 82-02 45th Ave. Corp for the retail building (K1) at 45-01 82nd Street in Elmhurst, Queens. Based on the sale price, PincusCo determined this is likely a development site purchase.
The deal closed on April 30, 2024 and was recorded on May 16, 2024. The property has 16,539 square feet of built space and 49,800 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 66,400 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $846 and the price per buildable square foot is $210 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 James Kwang Lee was James Kwang Lee. The signatory for Xiao Chu Zhou was Xiao Chu Zhou. The contract date was November 20, 2023.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Xiao Chu Zhou had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller James Kwang Lee had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Elmhurst has 16,539 square feet of built space and 49,800 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 66,400 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 167 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 16,600 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R7A which allows for up to 4 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $5.1 million. The most recent loan totaled $6.1 million and was provided by PCB Bank on October 27, 2023.

Violations and lawsuits

The property was involved in one lawsuit and zero bankruptcies over the past two years. The suit was a $6.1 million commercial foreclosure concerning a loan filed on June 13, 2022, by Noble Group and Central Penn Capital Management against James Kwang Lee and Soon Lee. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $7,770 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 Elmhurst, The bulk, or 40 percent of the 19.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, Elmhurst has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $123.5 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Elmhurst has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 524,562 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of seven of the 19 commercial properties representing 208,459 square feet of the 305,076 square feet. The largest owner is Novelty Crystal Corp., followed by LIRR and then James Kwang Lee.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 45 percent of the 305,076 square feet of built space are retail buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 24 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that James Kwang Lee owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 16,539 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $6.1 million in debt, borrowed from PCB Bank. The portfolio consists of at least a single retail property. It is located in Queens.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Xiao Chu Zhou owned at least two commercial properties in New York City with 18,160 square feet and a city-determined market value of $5.5 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $12 million in debt, borrowed from CTBC Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 52 percent of the 18,160 square feet of built space are retail properties, with mixed-use properties next occupying 48 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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