Schuckman Buys Northeast Queens Shopping Center for $56M

Punia & Marx Real Estate sold the Whitestone Shopping Center in Queens for $56 million.

BTF Capital Fund, led by Kenneth Schuckman and Aaron Malinsky, purchased the Key Food-anchored property at 153-15 Cross Island Parkway, according to a deed transfer in property records filed Friday. The purchase could be a play for assets tied to grocery stores and other necessity-based retail.

Schuckman’s brokerage firm, Schuckman Realty, will handle leasing for the shopping center, according to the buyer.

Acadia Realty Trust provided about $48.5 million in financing to Schuckman for the acquisition through a shell corporation, with Acadia’s Chief Financial Officer John Gottfried signing the mortgage documents.

Punia & Marx and Acadia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Punia & Marx has owned the property since at least 1975, and the amount paid for that acquisition is unknown.

Schuckman seems to have been involved in the management operations of the 220,000-square-foot shopping center, which is also leased to a Chase Bank branch, with a 2020 flier listing Kenneth Schuckman and Jessica Vilmenay as exclusive brokers.

The advertisement said at the time that a redevelopment of the property would be taking place, but was not specific about the nature of the repositioning.

Schuckman promoted the center based on 100,000 cars passing by the center daily on the Cross Island Parkway and 333,000 people living within three miles.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.