1.) Pawn shop S&G Gross is leaving its Midtown location after nearly a century at 486 Eighth Avenue. The 3,400-square-foot retail building sold for $20 million through a 1031 exchange, although the buyer’s identity is unknown. Vornado Realty Trust owns the two bordering retail buildings at 484 and 488 Eighth Avenue. The four-story building offers an additional 8,000 buildable square feet, and the new owners are likely bringing in a new restaurant tenant.
2.) Affordable housing developer the Arker Companies and partner the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corp. purchased the former Peninsula Hospital Center and an adjacent vacant lot for $19 million. After the Far Rockaway hospital closed in 2012, developers have been floating ideas for the site, which boasts more than 760,000 buildable square feet, including building new senior housing. Michael Melnicke, a former board member of Peninsula Hospital, is the seller.
3.) Danny Wrublin’s Dalan Management bought a West Village building from fashion designer Cynthia Rowley for $15.5 million. The women’s retailer paid just $3 million for the property in 2003, and operates out of the 1,000-square-foot store on the ground floor. Three apartments occupy the upper floors of the four-story building.
4.) The Orbach Group is continuing its buying streak on the Upper West Side. A month after purchasing a multifamily building at 203 West 107th Street for $16.3 million, the New Jersey-based landlord put down $14 million for a pair of residential buildings at 170-172 West 107th Street. The identical properties hold a combined 30 apartments and span 18,200 square feet. Elvio Rodriguez is the seller.
5.) Erez Itzhaki’s Itzhaki Acquisitions paid $11.4 million for a 17-unit rental building at 224 West 59th Street. The Midtown building is five stories and spans 11,800 square feet between Second and Third avenues. The developer also revealed plans last week for a new 34-story rental tower it’s bringing to Kips Bay. Permit applications show the new building will hold 103 apartments across 113,000 square feet.
6.) Fortuna Realty Group picked up the last parcel needed for a Midtown South assemblage along West 39th Street. The developer purchased 30 West 39th Street for $10.3 million and has already spent $18.3 million acquiring the adjacent buildings at 24-28 West 29th Street. Fortuna also spent $2 million on the development rights to the property. Demolition is underway at the site, but Fortuna has not yet filed plans for a new building.
(Source: ACRIS data for closed sales between May 16-22, and Reonomy data)