ZD Jasper Realty pays $16.3M for dev site in Sunnyside

ZD Jasper Realty through the entity Zdj Greenpoint LLC paid $16.3 million to Jehovah’s Witnesses through the entity Christian Congregation Of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the theater building (M1) at 44-17 Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens. The expected use is ground up development.
The deal closed on October 31, 2024 and was recorded on November 20, 2024. The property has 23,650 square feet of built space and 54,131 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 77,700 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $689 and the price per buildable square foot is $209 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 Jehovah’s Witnesses was Allen E. Shuster and Mark S. Turner. The signatory for ZD Jasper Realty was Zhidong Wu. The contract date was June 24, 2024. Traded NY reported on the sale of this building, the former Bliss Theater, identified Thomas Donovan, Tommy Lin, Eugene Kim, and Abby Todd of Meridian Capital Group as brokers on the sale..

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer ZD Jasper Realty purchased four properties in three transactions for a total of $77.2 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Jehovah’s Witnesses had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The specialty building in Sunnyside has 23,650 square feet of built space and 54,131 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 77,700 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 128 feet and is 219 feet deep with a total lot size of 25,900 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 $8.5 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $350 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on April 25, 2013. 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 Sunnyside, The bulk, or 32 percent of the 15.9 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 29 percent of the space. In sales, Sunnyside has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $154 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Sunnyside has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 526,019 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 two of the five commercial properties representing 82,030 square feet of the 111,496 square feet. The two identified owners are Pinnacle Group and Briard Group.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 71 percent of the 111,496 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Jehovah’S Witnesses owned at least two commercial properties with 11 residential units in New York City with 8,351 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.2 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 54 percent of the 8,351 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with M1 properties next occupying 46 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Zd Jasper Realty owned at least 18 commercial properties with 290 residential units in New York City with 196,815 square feet and a city-determined market value of $44 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 60 percent of the 196,815 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with elevator properties next occupying 25 percent of the space. The bulk, or 75 percent of the built space, is in Queens, with Manhattan next at 25 percent of the space.

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