NEW YORK CITY-Readers rejoice: the Queens Borough Public Library will be moving into its new digs at the base of the Sunrise Terrace condominium in Flushing, says real estate investment firm DelShah Capital LLC, who handled the deal. The library purchased seven street-level commercial spaces totaling more than 10,000 square feet at 31-32 Union St. for $3.5 million.
“We are excited that such a veritable institution was attracted to this building,” says Marc Watkins, executive vice president of DelShah Capital, in a statement. “We are extremely confident that the library’s plans will be an asset to the neighborhood.”
The property itself, however, has a complex history. DelShah purchased the first mortgage on the 32-unit mixed-use building from China Trust Bank for $5.4 million, and then worked through a foreclosure litigation against previous owner Paramount Management Corp. and five junior creditors, including Grand Pacific USA, private lender Golden Eagle and other private investors in the Flushing community.
Michael Shah, principal at DelShah, previously told GlobeSt.com that the company won the foreclosure auction at $3.7 million and is now marketing the residential units with Distinct New York and Prudential Douglas Elliman. “The building was beautifully built and it was one of the better developed buildings in the area,” he said. “Number two, we were in at a very good basis, about $190 per buildable square foot, and number three, there was a complicated legal fight going on, and that’s what we are really, really good at resolving.”
The building is located in close proximity to Kissena Park, the Queens Botanical Garden, the Main Street stop on the 7 train and the Long Island Rail Road. Shah said the deal is also part of the company’s larger strategy. “We buy a lot of non-performing debt, particularly during the recession because we decided that would be the best way to invest into real estate,” he said
The building has two- and three- bedroom units ranging in size from 1,000 square feet to 1,400 square feet, ranging from $439,000 to $652,500. According to DelShah, five residential units are already under contract, and 12 condos remain available.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
