Victor Jung

CEO, V Global Holdings

Victor Jung | Past Transactions

Tax Refunds May Fuel Windfall for Retailers

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Accountants weren’t the only ones cheering this year’s record number of tax returns.

This past Tuesday’s dreaded tax deadline actually marked a pleasant occasion for most filers. Of the 100 million or so returns processed through April 4, nearly 80% resulted in a refund averaging $2,792. The total sum paid out was about $5 billion, or 2.5%, higher than a year earlier.

That bodes well for the nation’s retailers in the months ahead since many households treat returns as a windfall to be spent, not saved. Even better, Uncle Sam has been a lot quicker to whip out his checkbook than in 2013. Had that not been the case, retail-sales figures for the past two months might have looked different.

 

Sales for March recorded their biggest month-over-month gain in a year and a half, according to a report Monday from the Commerce Department. That came despite the fact that Easter, which fell earlier last year, in March, isn’t until this Sunday.

“I do believe that [tax refunds] were fuel for the consumer in the month of March,” said Jack Kleinheinz, the National Retail Federation’s chief economist.

And, although the dollar amounts were smaller, the impact of accelerated returns probably did much to offset the impact of frigid weather in February. An initial estimate of retail sales was revised higher for that month. For the week ended Feb. 7, for example, cumulative tax returns were $12.5 billion, or a whopping 24%, higher than at the same point a year earlier. By the end of February, that gain had fallen to 8.8%, and by the end of March, the difference was just 2.6%.

Last year was an entirely different story. At the end of February 2013, refunds were 14.3% lower than at the same point in 2012. That was mainly the result of administrative delays caused by the “fiscal cliff” standoff in Washington. The effect on spending was exacerbated by the expiration of the payroll-tax holiday.

The drag on spending early last year was particularly strong at retailers dependent on lower-middle-class customers, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Dollar General Corp. , or service providers such as no-contract cellphone carriers.

It seems a fair bet that they had a far less taxing start to this year.

Rochelle’s Soft Opened Last Night with Haute Snacks and Whiskey Classics

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Excerpt from Village Voice:

By Hannah Palmer Egan Fri., Nov. 15 2013

In recent memory, the NYC bar scene has witnessed few belly-flops as full-on and frontal as Matt Levine’s idiotic Cocktail Bodega (an alcoholic smoothie bar), which shuttered in April after just seven months in business.

 

Afterward, Levine filed a $20 million lawsuit against his former partner Michael Shah, whose company The Line Group was already busy building out Rochelle’s (205 Chrystie Street) (Formally: Leave Rochelle Out of It), a pretty, dark-wood whiskey lounge, which quietly soft-opened last night.

“[Cocktail Bodega] was, and still is, a great concept for an airport…Not so much for here.” The Line Group’s operation manager Victor Jung said as we sat casually at the bar tasting an Old Forrester barrel-aged Breukelen cocktail. It tasted almost identical to the glorious bastard Manhattan I usually order (Bourbon, rocks, two cherries, no bitters) — serendipitous.

Jung seemed relaxed and pleased and happy to sit and absorb the space and the people filtering into it, a mix of friends and family and randoms wandering in off the street, a casual crowd mostly in their late twenties and early thirties. Soothing rock and roll classics hummed over the soundsystem at a tolerable volume.

Creative directors Brett David and Stephen Yorsz, both NYC nightlife veterans, were gracious hosts; David worked the floor with the nervy excitement of a kid at his dream birthday party — it was clear he really, really, REALLY wanted to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves as much as he was — while Yorsz stuck to the bar, mixing cocktails in a cut-off t-shirt, asking every bar guest their name and then amazingly, actually, remembering them when they returned for a second drink. Hospitality, man.

The bar is named for a mutual ex-girlfriend of David and Yorsz (Rochelle must have a thing for tall, tatted-up, dark-haired dudes with beards), who have been tight friends for years.

Yorsz’s cocktail list seems bent on introducing classic whiskey tipples to a younger generation. A rusty nail ($15) bit sharp and deep, while a brown derby ($13) was sweet and sour, just like you want it. If you want your whiskey straight, the options are plentiful. And if you feel like a beer, there are $5 craft brews on draft. Rochelle’s is also offering barrel service, playing on the bottle service concept by allowing patrons to order their own one-liter barrels of whiskey for a table.

We stuck to the cocktail list, but we glanced at the menu, and the food, which runs in the dressy pub fare vein, is reasonably priced. Offerings like confit duck sliders ($6) and a bowl of fries ($7) were more tempting on a cold late-fall evening than the extensive cured meats selection, but those’ll be nice come spring.

Rochelle’s makes its official debut on November 21.

Find me on Twitter: @findthathannah

Renters Flocking to Student Housing

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Excerpt By Jessica Fiur, News Editor, MHN Online

New York—In downtown Brooklyn, a former seven-story multifamily building is being converted to a 44-unit student housing community. The property, 902-908 Bedford Avenue, houses undergraduates and graduate students and their families, most of whom attend the Pratt Institute and Long Island University.

DelShah Capital LLC, a real estate management and CRE debt acquisition company, in charge of 902-908 Bedford Avenue’s rebranding, along with Distinct New York, a real estate marketing company, renovated the building in eight months. Currently, DelShah, having completed its value-enhancing program, is listing the building with Massey Knakal for sale at $17 million.

The units range from two-bedroom apartments with outdoor balconies to six-bedroom suites.

The apartments also have been given “student-friendly” upgrades, including a student lounge, a rear deck and monitored security cameras. According to Victor Jung, executive vice president of operations of Distinct New York, the apartments have green elements such as nozzles on the showerheads that promote water conservation, “green” paint, and energy efficient appliances.

Rents for 902-908 Bedford Avenue range from $900 per room to $4,500 for a four-bedroom apartment.

“The students seek larger units to share with classmates, are less price sensitive and desire a rental building that caters to their needs in close proximity to specific campus locations,” Michael Shah, principal and CEO of DelShah, said in a statement.
Though one would think that potential residents would be more price sensitive in this slowed economy, this is proving not to be the case for students.

Victor Jung believes this is because the general package of 902-908 Bedford Avenue is so appealing. “We offer stability to students and parents because it’s all inclusive,” he tells MHN.

According to Victor Jung, the appeal also lies in the fact that these off-campus apartments are cheaper than the on-campus ones, and the fact that students have “parent guarantors.”

“Bottom line, they need a place to live,” Victor Jung says.
This appears to be the case—the property is already 98 percent occupied.

Sunrise Terrace Condos

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Relaunch of Flushing Condominium

Excerpt from The Real Deal

By David Jones, The Real Deal

DelShah Capital, led by investor Michael Shah, has officially re-launched the Sunrise Terrace Condominiums in Flushing, Queens, after acquiring the unsold shares at the stalled complex at a foreclosure auction in July. Victor Jung from Distinct New York was enrolled to rebrand, reposition and remarket the property.

DelShah, after acquiring the project’s original $9.6 million senior mortgage from ChinaTrust in November 2009, spent nearly two years working to take over the deal after negotiating a complex series of legal hurdles and direct negotiations with several creditors involved in the project.

Delshah acquired the property’s $6.9 million loan balance for $3.7 million in a foreclosure auction, after a judgment was issued against the previous owners, Paramount Management, in April.

Sunrise Terrace has operated in a tough submarket in Flushing, competing against larger rivals like SkyView Parc and other new condominiums.

Distinct New York, an affiliate of DelShah, is the exclusive marketing and sales agent along with Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Victor Jung, executive vice president at Distinct, said demand is strong for the newly positioned condos.

“It’s a great, unique product,” Jung said. “This property has Trump-like finishes for that community.”

The units have Whirlpool stainless steel kitchen appliances, Techline kitchen cabinets, stone countertops, Kohler bathroom fixtures, washer dryer units and optional parking spaces.

The 41-unit property, at 31-32 Union Street, is offering 17 units for sale ranging from 1,000 to 1,400 square feet and $439,000 to $652,500. Fifteen of the property’s residential apartments were previously sold.

The property’s commercial condos range from $229,000 to $899,000 and range in size from 650 square feet to 2,400 square feet.

DelShah owns a total of 1,750 multi-family units across New York, part of his firm’s 2 million-square-foot commercial real estate portfolio.

Just last month, DelShah purchased a mixed-use multi-family complex at 1356 First Avenue, between 72nd Street and 73rd streets for $9.1 million. The complex is also the home of Petaluma, considered one of the top Italian restaurants on the Upper East Side.

DelShah was an original investor at the Setai at 40 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan. In late December 2010, the firm filed suit to block Anglo Irish Bank from transferring the deed at 40 Broad.

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