The 10 priciest condominium projects in the outer boroughs last year were all in Brooklyn and Queens. Their total sellout target of $1.1 billion was on par with top-10 tallies from 2022 and 2021, and well shy of the $2 billion mark of pre-pandemic 2019.
Brooklyn and Queens, with more land and lower costs, can likely expect robust condo development in the years ahead as a tax break for rentals has expired. Projects in the outer boroughs provide an entry point to homeownership in the city, although that isn’t keeping developers from pushing up the quality and price of for-purchase apartments beyond Manhattan.
In South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, pricing hit the waterline of $2,000 per square foot at Gemini Rosemont’s 171 North 1st Street project, and the Queens neighborhood of Flushing captured more than half of the priciest condo projects accepted by state regulators in 2023.
New development listing inventory in Brooklyn fell for the sixth consecutive quarter through the third quarter of 2023, according to data from appraisal firm Miller Samuel. In Queens, buyers looked with increasing favor on new condos, which accounted for nearly a third of sales in the third quarter. The number of sales rose annually for the first time in six quarters.
Here are more details of 2023’s most expensive condo offerings in the outer boroughs, based on city records and offering plans accepted by the attorney general.
1. Xiaorong Zhai’s Jade Century Properties expects twin residential buildings at 131–02 40th Road near Downtown Flushing to fetch $380 million for 392 condominium apartments plus parking, storage and commercial spaces.
Some 130 one-bedroom and two-bedroom units are in contract, according to StreetEasy; the priciest is listed at $1,280 per square foot. The 20-story buildings are on a 2.5-acre lot dubbed Flushing Point Plaza, near Citi Field and east of the Van Wyck Expressway.
The developer is also planning a 469-key hotel on the site, according to filings with the Department of Buildings. An earlier filing called for 525 rooms. Zhai landed $101 million in construction loans for the residential buildings in 2021.
2. Tony Wang’s W&L Group has priced its 151 units at 2286 Cropsey Avenue in Gravesend, Brooklyn, at $152 million, according to an offering plan. The 23-story building spans 300,000 square feet and offers one- to four-bedroom apartments for $990 to $1,350 per square foot. G4 Capital Partners recently refinanced the project with a $74 million loan.
Flushing-based W&L bought the site in 2014 for $19 million from Alexander Gurevich, a Russian developer once banned from selling residential units in New York.
3. Gemini Rosemont is seeking nearly $127 million for 57 apartments and two commercial units at 171 North 1st Street in South Williamsburg. One- to four-bedroom apartments at the Brooklyn project, designed by Fogarty Finger, have closed for $1,670 to $2,000 per square foot.
Gemini landed $34.8 million from East West Bank in 2022 to build the 70,000-square-foot structure. The developer bought the property in 2020 for $18.2 million.
4. Chris Jiashu Xu, the developer behind the ambitious Skyline Tower, is undertaking yet another project in Queens, this time at 134-03 35th Avenue in Flushing. The building, with a sellout price of $110 million, includes 120 condo units over 101,000 square feet and a 208-key hotel, which brings the structure to 350,000 square feet.
One- and two-bedroom units are listed for $1,285 to $1,260 per square foot. Xu, founder of United Construction and Development Group, received $88 million in construction loans for the project, which is in the LaGuardia Airport flight path, in 2022 from Centennial Bank. The address is also known as 33-71 Prince Street. Xu first filed plans in 2014 to develop the site.
5. Kuan He Wu’s Maspeth-based Good Fortune Realty expects to fetch nearly $78 million for 39 condo apartments, eight community facilities and one commercial unit across 99,000 square feet at 42-80 Main Street in Flushing.
A duplex apartment is priced at $1,420 per square foot while a smaller unit is priced at $1,320 for each of its 700 square feet. Wu wants $1,500 per square foot for the building’s first-floor commercial unit, according to an offering plan. Good Fortune bought the 14,000-square-foot parcel in 2011 for $8.5 million.
6. Harel Edery’s EDRE Development hopes to bring in $75 million for 38 condo apartments, plus parking spots and storage units, at 110 North 1st Street in South Williamsburg. Eager buyers snapped up 21 units before construction wrapped, with prices ranging from $1,670 to $1,830 per square foot, according to StreetEasy.
Edery bought the North Brooklyn development site in 2021 for $13 million after DDG Development punted on its plan to construct a residential building. S3 Capital provided Edery with an $8 million acquisition loan and $23.5 million construction loan.
Kitchens are outfitted with Gaggenau appliances. Building amenities include saunas and meditation rooms. Tamir Shamesh is leading sales.
7. Montperia Group, formerly Ampiera Group, is seeking $61 million for 76 condo units and 71 parking spaces at 40-22 61st Street in Woodside, Queens. Some 33 one- and two-bedroom units are in contract asking $1,230 to $1,350 per square foot.
Kitchens are equipped with Bosch appliances. Building amenities include a putting green and electric vehicle charging. Montperia operates a co-working building, as well its own office, at the adjacent 60-20 Woodside Avenue.
8. Yangfang Chen’s Sunlight Development Group is expecting nearly $57 million in sales from a condo project at 134-16 35th Avenue in Flushing. The 74,000-square-foot development has 69 condo units and a garage with 96 parking spaces.
Units from studios to three-bedrooms are listed at $1,100 per square foot; the priciest one in contract is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom for $1,230 per square foot. Some 14 units are in contract, according to StreetEasy.
Construction debt originated by S3 Capital was recently refinanced by Elite United LLC, based in Great Neck. An offering plan for the project puts its address as 135-25 Northern Boulevard, but the lot has been subdivided; a medical office building was slated for that address.
9. George Xu’s Century Development Group hopes to squeeze almost $50 million from the condo portion of a 230,000-square-foot hotel and residential development at 35-32 Leavitt Street in Flushing.
Approximately 50 condo units will populate the 13-story building’s top floors while a Westin with 249 guest rooms will occupy floors nine and below. Century received $86 million in construction financing from Maxim Capital Group in 2022. George is the brother of Chris Xu, who led the family into real estate development.
10. Feng Jin Wang, Hui Chen and Zhu Mei Chen expect nearly $47 million from the sale of 41 condo apartments, six community facilities and 10 parking spaces at 44-15 College Point Boulevard in Flushing.
Two-bedroom units are listed for about $1,130 per square foot; a one-bedroom is in contract. The building stands seven stories tall at the corner of College Point and Pople avenues. The developers bought the building site in 2019 for $13.6 million. Cathay Bank supplied acquisition and construction loans.
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