Astoria and Long Island City might be the darlings of the Queens real estate market, but they were fairly quiet at the end of the year.
Instead, the Rockaways took the top spot on the list of the largest Queens deals in the fourth quarter with Treetop Development’s $135 million purchase of 711 Seagirt Avenue, according to data from Real Capital Analytics. The neighborhood made another appearance at number nine with the $22 million purchase of Dix McBride Apartments by UHAB and Workforce Housing Group.
Overall, the fourth quarter’s top 10 Queens developments were worth about $540.4 million, making it the highest grossing quarter of the year for the borough. The first quarter’s total of about $423 million was in second place, followed by the third quarter at about $308 million and the second quarter at about $296 million.
Residential sales dominated the list this quarter, taking up five of the top 10 deals. The list also included two development sites, one industrial site, one retail site and one self-storage site.
The full list of Queens’ top 10 sales is as follows:
1. 711 Seagirt Avenue, $135 million
Buyer: Treetop Development
Seller: Rainbow Estates Group
Brokerage: Westwood Realty Associates
The largest Queens deal during the fourth quarter took place out in the Rockaways, where Treetop Development purchased a four-building complex at 711 Seagirt Avenue for $135 million. The buildings, known as the Sand Castle, contain 916 residential units and eight commercial units, and they are located just two blocks away from the beach. Treetop secured a $97.5 million loan from Signature Bank for the property, which the company plans to renovate.
2. 131-01 39th Avenue, $115 million
Buyer: Yuk Ming Yip
Seller: Triple East Construction
Developer Andy Zhu’s company Triple Star Realty sold 131-01 39th Avenue to real estate investor Yuk Ming Yip in November. The property is one of the largest mixed-use development sites in Flushing and was the former home of Assi Plaza, a Korean supermarket. It contains almost 632,000 square feet of development rights and is located near the Sky View Parc complex along Flushing Creek. Zhu purchased the site for $78 million in 2015 and originally planned to build a mixed-use development with a 200-key hotel, 360 condominiums, medical office space, parking and retail space. Zhu is now facing a lawsuit over the site from Hansen Realty Development Corp, which claims he mismanaged the planned project. He has responded with a countersuit claiming that his partners’ inexperience derailed the plans.
3. 31-07 20th Avenue, approximately $94 million
Buyer: Prime Storage Group
Seller: Prudential Financial, Madison Development Group
Prime Storage Group, based in Florida, purchased this 173,990-square-foot storage site in Astoria for about $94 million in December. This was not the only major self-storage deal Prime made in late 2017, as the company’s $53 million purchase of 1084 Rockaway Avenue in Canarsie from Madison Development made the list of Brooklyn’s top 10 deals for the fourth quarter.
4. 39-08 Janet Place, approximately $45 million
Buyer: Yuzhuo Yu
Seller: United Construction and Development Group, Century Development, Brian S. Pun
Queens developer Chris “Jiashu” Xu sold off this portion of a Flushing assemblage he bought in 2016 for about $45 million in November. The property appeared to be part of a four-acre assemblage Xu had purchased for $100 million, and it contains 870,000 as-of-right buildable square feet. Before the sale, it had been seen as a possible location for Xu to revive his plans for the mixed-use River Park Place project, featuring 450 apartments, 313,000 square feet of commercial space and 7,500 square feet of community space.
5. 34-15 Parsons Boulevard, approximately $33.9 million
Buyer: Blackstone Group
Seller: Harvard Management Co
This residential building was one of the 13 properties across Manhattan and Queens that Harvard University sold a majority stake in to Blackstone in December. The overall deal was worth about $244 million, and the 34-15 Parsons Boulevard sale made up about $33.9 million of this. The site is located in Flushing and stands six stories tall.
6. 97-25 64th Avenue, $31.5 million
Buyer: Pinnacle Group
Seller: Estate of Leon Jolson
Joel Weiner’s Pinnacle Group bought this property in October for $31.5 million from the Leon Jolson estate. The residential building, located in Rego Park, has 113 units and spans 98,000 square feet.
7. 5700 49th Place, $23 million
Buyer: Seagis Property Group
Seller: Joseph Wosner
Seagis purchased this industrial building in Maspeth for $23 million in December. The two-story building was constructed in 1964, and the lot spans about 93,300 square feet.
8. 33-54 83rd Street, $23 million
Buyer: Henley
Seller: The Domain Companies
Henley purchased the residential building known as Hayes Court, located at 33-54 83rd Street in Jackson Heights, for $23 million in November from the Domain Companies. The five-story building was constructed in 1920, and Henley plans to renovate the property.
9. Dix McBride Apartments, approximately $22 million
Buyer: UHAB, Workforce Housing Group
Seller: Gershon Eichorn
The second Rockaways property to make the list was Dix McBride Apartments at 2229-2259 Dix Avenue. UHAB and Workforce Housing Group purchased them from Gershon Eichorn in December for about $22 million. The complex consists of five four-story buildings built in 1998.
10. 91-19 Queens Boulevard, $18 million
Buyer: Midwood Management
Seller: Miller Management Co.
Midwood bought this Elmhurst retail property in December for $18 million. The one-story building was built in 1974 and contains three retail spaces, one of which is home to a McDonald’s and two of which are vacant.