Rubin Isak, Goldenwood Property AdvisorsBelow I will highlight the details for some of the largest investment property sales in Queens; (sales at $35 million and above this summer ):
• 94-25 57th Ave., Elmhurst: A seven-story, corner, 187,800 s/f elevator apartment building, built in 1961, containing 164 apartments and 3 commercial units, sold for $40.725 million on August 16th. The sales price equates to $248,323/residential unit and $216 per s/f. The buyers are TreeTop Development based out of Teaneck, N.J. The sellers, based out of Whitestone, Queens, owned the property for over 30 years.
• 37-10 114th St., Corona: An eight-story hotel building near LaGuardia Airport, containing 118,300 gross s/f. The property sold for $37.644 million on August 11th to McSam Hotel Group, based out of Great Neck. The seller owned the property since 1999.
• 47-25 34th St., Long Island City: A three-story, plus cellar, 322,390 s/f office/industrial building sold for $89 million or $276 per s/f on August 12th. The buyers are Metropolitan Realty Associates based out of Manhattan and TIAA. The sellers are Brickman Associates based out of Manhattan as well. Brickman purchased this back in 2014 for $60 million; before that it sold in 2013 for $40.725 million to BLDG Management.
• 135-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing: The RKO Theater building sold for $65.775 million to XIN Development International on July 29th. The sellers JK Equities based out of Port Washington. The site is zoned C2-2/R6 and sold with approved plans for roughly 390,000 s/f and a grandfathered in 421-a tax abatement.
• 43-01 22nd St., Long Island City: A six-story, 225,000 s/f, office building sold for $62.099 million on July 14th. The buyers are a partnership between Newmark Holdings and Olmstead Properties, Inc. The sellers are Roger, Leslie and Jonathan Kaufman. The sales price equates to over $275 per s/f.
• 2302-2402 49th Ave., Long Island City: “Bridgedale Plaza, a seven-story, 656,241 s/f warehouse building, sold for $195 million on July 12th to Westbrook Partners and Innovo Property Group, both based out of Manhattan. The sellers are Cammeby’s Management and the Fruchthandler Family. The sales price equates to $297 per s/f. The building is fully occupied by three tenants; the main tenant is the New York City Housing Authority. The sellers owned the building since 1997. The property traded at a sub 3% capitalization rate.
• 62-60 99th St., Rego Park – “Saxon Hall,” a 16-story, 503,000 s/f, 419 residential units with 3,842 s/f of commercial space, apartment building. This property sold on June 30th for $135.5 million. The sales price equates to $323,389/residential unit and $269 per s/f. The capitalization rate at the closing was 4.5%. The Gross Rent Multiple was 14.5X. The buyers are Madison Realty Capital and Arel Capital, both based in Manhattan. The sellers are TreeTop Development, who purchased this building back in June 2013 for $85.2 million. The property also sold in May 2008 for $74 million.
• 20-11 20th St., Astoria: “Marine Terrace” A 315,000 s/f, affordable housing complex, comprised of seven apartment buildings containing a total of 444 residential units. The complex sold on June 30th for $121 million. The sales price equates to $272,522 per unit and $384 per s/f. The buyer is The Related Companies. The Seller is The Benjamin Companies, who have owned the site since 1980. The Related Companies also plans to build two new residential buildings containing 53 apartments on the site, targeted towards veterans.
• 99-01 Queens Blvd., Rego Park: A corner, two-story, 57,000 s/f, retail and office building. This property sold on June 29th for $31.215 million or $547.63 per s/f to Blumenfeld Development Corp. based out of Syosset. The seller is Vornado Realty Trust, who purchased this back in 2004 for $26.5 million. The current tenancy includes, Bank of America, New York Sports Club and DeVry College.
• 144-51 & 41 Northern Blvd., Flushing: A mixed-use development site consisting of 37,000 s/f on two lots sold on June 24th for $36 million. Currently there is a Flushing Bank, 11,853 s/f, two-story building on one of the sites. The development site allows for 90,000 buildable s/f. The sales price equates to $401 per buildable s/f. The seller is Flushing Bank. The buyer is CW Northern LLC, based in Manhattan.
• 3419 90th St. & 3418 91st St., Jackson Heights: An elevator apartment building complex consisting of 324 apartments over 191,808 s/f. This property sold on June 16th for $72.15 million. The sales price equates to $222,685 per unit and $376.15 per s/f. The buyer is A&E Real Estate Holdings. The seller, who purchased this complex for $23.5 million back in 2005, is Benedict Properties based in Great Neck.
• 35-30 38th St., Astoria: “UA Kaufman Astoria Studios,” an 84,000 s/f retail/movie theatre building. This property sold on June 8th for $45 million. The seller is Forest City Ratner Companies and Madison International Realty. The purchaser is Kaufman Astoria Studios. The sales price equates to $535.71 per s/f and a 5.5% capitalization rate.
The 12 sales I highlighted above, for a total gross consideration of $931.108 million, demonstrates the immense amount of smart money that continues to be invested in Queens. Investor appetite continues to be robust for income producing property in the borough.
Rubin Isak is the president & founder of Goldenwood Property Advisors, New York, N.Y.