Palmese and Donovan of Massey Knakal sell former St. John's Hospital for $47 million

Massey Knakal (www.masseyknakal.com) has arranged the sale of the former St. John's Hospital building at 90-02 Queens Blvd. and parking garage at 87- 28 58th Ave., located in the Elmhurst neighborhood. The transaction totals at $47 million. 90-02 Queens Boulevard, located between 57th Ave. and Woodhaven Blvd., is a seven-story plus penthouse, elevator-serviced former hospital building. It contains 266,322 s/f and sits on a 347' x 105' irregular lot. It has been gutted to the steel and concrete and all windows in the building have been replaced. There are approved BSA plans to convert the property to a mixed-use building with retail on the ground floor and lower level, medical facilities on the second floor, and residential on the remaining floors. 87-28 58th Ave., located on the corner of Hoffman Dr. and 58th Ave. behind the former hospital, is a five-story parking garage with a capacity of 290 parking spots. It contains 86,400 s/f and sits on an 80' x 218' irregular lot. "For the first time, Queens is beginning to see a trickle-down effect of rising rents from primary neighborhoods, like Long Island City. This is similar to Williamsburg's effect on Bushwick. As a result, secondary markets, like Elmhurst, which also have great transportation, are experiencing strong increases in residential rents," said Stephen Palmese who exclusively handled this transaction with Thomas Donovan. "This property is located across the street from the Queens Center Mall which is one of the top grossing malls in the US," said Donovan. The buildings are located right next to the most active retail corridor in Queens and across the street from Queens Place Mall and Queens Center. They are in proximity to the Long Island Expressway, Grand Central Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, and Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The buildings are accessible by mass transit as well, with numerous bus lines servicing the area and access to the M and R subway lines at Woodhaven Boulevard.