Along the busy commercial spine of Metropolitan Avenue where Forest Hills meets Middle Village, daily-needs retail with dedicated surface parking is practically recession-proof. 9101 Metropolitan LLC closed on the two-parcel retail property at 91-01 Metropolitan Avenue on September 16, 2026 for $13.38 million ($944 per square foot), purchasing the 2014-built, 14,175-square-foot strip from Metro Wood Forest Associates LLC. When the deed closed on September 16, 2026, 9101 Metropolitan LLC had officially taken down 91-01 Metropolitan Avenue from Metro Wood Forest Associates LLC for $13.38 million, with Queens Retail Capital Markets brokering the trade.

At $944 a square foot across 14,175 square feet, the trade establishes a clean clearing mark for Forest Hills / Rego Park modern single-story neighborhood retail strip assets.

BankUnited Backs a 76 Percent Equity Play on Queens Strip Retail

The real tell in any Queens closing sits on the debt side of the ledger. To fund the purchase, 9101 Metropolitan LLC locked in a $3.2 million senior acquisition mortgage from BankUnited, N.A. at 23.9 percent loan-to-value.

That loan commitment meant the buyers only needed to write a $10.17 million equity check to control a 1-story, 2014-vintage Forest Hills / Rego Park asset. Credit committees aren't stretching to 75 percent leverage anymore, but when a sponsor brings $10.17 million of real cash equity and a basis of $944 a square foot, lenders like BankUnited, N.A. are wide open for business.

From Our Desk

When we look at 91-01 Metropolitan Avenue on our placement desk at Light Tower Group, the lesson for New York sponsors comes down to the marriage of entry basis and capital structure. 9101 Metropolitan LLC didn't try to fight the tape—they bought Forest Hills / Rego Park footage at $944 a square foot and structured the stack to match the asset's timeline. Private Queens family offices are happily putting 76 percent cash down—supplemented here by a $3.2 million BankUnited note—to lock in necessity-retail rent rolls that never require a tenant-improvement war chest.