Zara Realty signs $72.2M refi loan with Signature Bank for 358 units in Queens, up from $54.5M

The Subraj family’s Zara Realty Holding through the entity Belair Park 8825 LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Signature Bank valued at $72.2 million for five residential elevator properties with a total of 358 units including the 111-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 88-25 148th Street in Jamaica, Queens, 100-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 148-48 88th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, and 70-unit residential elevator building (D1) at 88-09 148th Street in Jamaica, Queens.
The deal closed on June 21, 2022 and was recorded on August 19, 2022. The prior lender was New York Community Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $54.5 million. The five properties have 301,386 square feet of built space and 15,010 square feet of additional air rights according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $239 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 Zara Realty Holding was Rajesh Anthony Subraj. The signatory for Signature Bank was Michael Riegler.

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 88-25 148th Street.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Jairaj Sobhraj, head officer and Kenneth Subraj, officer. The business entities are Belair Park 5 Llc and Belair Park 8825 Llc. The five properties with a total of 301,386 square feet of built space generated revenue of $5.8 million per year or $19 per square foot.

The property

The 88-25 148th Street parcel has frontage of 200 feet and is 110 feet deep with a total lot size of 24,150 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 $8.4 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 received five DOB violations, four housing violations, $600 in OATH penalties, and two housing litigations in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million on this tax lot.

The block

On the tax block of 88-25 148th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the eight commercial properties representing 350,068 square feet of the 585,014 square feet. The largest owner is Cammeby’s International Group, followed by Mary Partridge and then Zara Realty Holding.
There is one active new building construction project totaling 68,650 square feet. It is a 69-unit, 68,650-square-foot R-2 building developed by Sam Rubin with plans filed April 14, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 95 percent of the 585,014 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 5 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Zara Realty Holding owned at least 47 commercial properties in New York City with 2,456,008 square feet and a city-determined market value of $225.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $266.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Arbor Realty Trust, Northern Trust Company, and Dime Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 90 percent of the 2,456,008 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 10 percent of the space. They are all located in Queens.

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