By any measure, 2020 was not a normal year for New York’s real estate industry. And condo filings were no exception.
The total projected sellout of the planned condo projects in Brooklyn and Queens that made this year’s list was $384 million — a far cry from last year’s total of just over $2 billion.
In fact, the most expensive condo filing of the year — a Long Island City project with a projected sellout of $79 million — was just a smidge higher than the 10th-priciest project on our 2019 list.
Like we said, 2020 has been weird.
The properties that made the top 10 this year are also on the smaller side; the largest project by unit count is 175 & 192 Spencer, a rental-to-condo conversion in Bedford-Stuyvesant helmed by Black Spruce Capital, with just 82 apartments. The smallest project is a four-unit building on 3rd Street in Park Slope, which added a couple of stories to an existing brownstone.
Here’s the full list of the priciest condo filings of 2020 in Brooklyn and Queens:
1. Prime LIC, Circle F Capital | $79 million
The most valuable filing of the year, for Circle F Capital’s condominium project at 22-43 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, has a sellout valuation of $79 million — a staggering $754 million less than last year’s top filing: Dumbo’s Front & York. Nevertheless, Circle F’s 71-unit building is at the top of the pack for 2020.
The Feldman family bought the site in 2016 from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and filed plans for the 11-story mixed-use building a year later. In addition to the condo units, the building will have a Trader Joe’s on the ground floor, which is set to open sometime in 2021.
Ryan Serhant was tapped to lead sales for the Andres Escobar-designed building in early 2019, and listings for its one- to three-bedroom condos were originally due to appear sometime this summer. The pandemic seems to have put that plan on hold.
2. 175 and 192 Spencer, Black Spruce Management | $60 million
In 2015, Black Spruce Management picked up two rental buildings in Bedford-Stuyvesant for $39 million, with the intention of turning their 82 apartments into condos.
Five years later, that plan is closer to fruition, and the project at 175 and 192 Spencer Street, a few blocks from Pratt Institute, now has a sellout valuation of $60 million. Its one- and two-bedroom units hit the market earlier this year, with prices starting at $645,000. The buildings now have a bevy of amenities, including a communal rooftop lounge, on-site parking, a fitness center and bike storage. The project has a 421a tax abatement in effect through 2036.
3. Millo Astoria, Shangri-La LIC | $57 million
Astoria has seen an influx of high-end condos in the past few years, including this 63-unit building at 14-33 31st Avenue. The five-story building has a total projected sellout of $57 million. Its apartments start at $482,000 for a one-bedroom, and go up to $1.1 million for a three-bedroom, according to available listings on StreetEasy. Building amenities include a communal garden, fitness room and bike storage.
4. The Cascade, Cascade 553 LLC | $41 million
Two buildings within the same Bedford-Stuyvesant condo project occupy the No. 4 spot, each of which has a projected sellout of $41 million. The two buildings, at 569 Marcy Avenue and 92 Stockton Street, are part of the former Cascade Linen Factory site on the border of Bed-Stuy and Bushwick.
A group of investors from Williamsburg’s Hasidic Satmar community, including Abraham Brach, Max Lebowitz and Andor Deutsche, are developing the seven-building complex. Originally, the plan was to turn the site into religious housing, but the developers pivoted to luxury condos in 2017. These buildings will have just under 80 condo apartments; when all seven buildings are completed there will be about 300 units starting at around $1 million each.
5. 1000 Union Street, HML Development | $26 million
HML Development is behind this Crown Heights condo project at 1000 Union Street, which has just 20 apartments. Plans for the seven-story building, designed by Fischer + Makooi Architects, were filed in 2017, and the project has a total sellout valuation of $26 million. Its apartments start at $775,000.
6. Bay Park Manor, Yunlon LI and Shumei Ma | $20 million
If you need a sign of how much the market changed between 2019 and 2020, here’s one: The No. 6 spot on last year’s list was occupied by Fortis Property Group’s River Park condo, with a projected sellout of $113 million. This year, it’s taken by a 20-unit building in Bayside, Queens, with just 16 apartments and a projected sellout of $20 million.
The building at 214-11 35th Street is just three stories tall, and is located close to Crocheron park. Its one- and two-bedroom units start at $639,000.
7 & 8. The Box Street Condominiums, Bar Chaim Group | $17 million
950 Sunlight Condominium, WSW Street | $17 million (tie)
Two smaller condo projects in Greenpoint and Borough Park, Brooklyn, landed on the list with a projected sellout of $17 million each.
In Greenpoint, a new building at 44 Box Street, developed by Bar Chaim Group, will have just 16 apartments. Plans for the building near the East River were filed in 2016, but the apartments have yet to be listed publicly. In Borough Park, a six-story building at 950 55th Street is replacing a single-family home, and the project developed by WSW Street will have medical facilities as well as 16 condo units.
9. The Rutland, NY Lefferts LLC | $16 million
This condo project at 401 Rutland Road in Brooklyn’s booming Prospect-Lefferts Gardens has just 22 units, with a projected sellout of $16 million. The building was designed by prolific architect Karl Fischer, and sales launched earlier this year. Asking prices for its units start at $395,000 for a studio, and go up to $895,000 for a two-bedroom apartment.
10. The Homage on 3rd, Peggy Hernandez | $10 million
Rounding out the top 10 is the smallest project on the list, a four-unit condominium in Park Slope. The building at 497 3rd Street, just west of Seventh Avenue, has two units on the market: a two-bedroom asking $1.88 million and a three-bedroom duplex penthouse, with a private deck, asking $3.25 million.