By Gary Buiso
Forget about buying the car—take the whole building. A property on Bay Ridge’s auto dealership row is for sale, and could fetch millions. The site, located at 429 89th Street, is being offered for $3 million by Massey Knakal Realty Services, the exclusive sales agents. The current tenant is Giuffre Hyundai of Bay Ridge, which has a lease that extends through April 30, 2014, with a three-year option after that. Stephen Palmese, Massey Knakal’s director of sales in Bay Ridge, said the site is prized because of existing value, but also its potential to grow. The one-story, 10,000-square-foot building sits in an area zoned for commercial use. It holds an additional 10,000 square feet of development rights, he noted. Palmese noted that the tenant’s lease is based upon a $12 per square foot and is significantly below market value. He predicted the actual rent in just five years time jumping to at least $20 a square foot, “as the area gets more popular and the dealership continues to thrive.” “What interests people in investing in Bay Ridge is that they visualize it as an annuity—there’s little risk, and they know in 20 years, they’ve found gold,” he said. Palmese said the neighborhood is poised to experience continued growth. He said he is working on a plan now to bring “a four-star hotel” to the neighborhood. “It’s very trendy right now, and makes sense economically,” he said about the hotel industry. “With condominiums not doing as well, that’s what people are focusing on.” “Why not now?” he said. In Bay Ridge alone last year, the total commercial real estate transactions totaled $84 million, with Palmese accounting for $35 million of those sales, he said.
