Rockrose Buys LICH Site from Madison Realty Capital

Rockrose paid $65 million for a Cobble Hill site that was once part of a grand plan to redevelop the former Long Island College Hospital campus.

The firm bought 91-95 Pacific Street from Madison Realty Capital, Rockrose confirmed. The deal closed on Friday.

Previous plans for the site called for a condominium tower, but it is not clear what Rockrose intends for it.

“We are comfortable stepping into complex developments and acting quickly,” Justin Elghanayan, president of Rockrose, said in a statement.

Fortis Property Group had sold the site, along with 350 Hicks Street, to Madison Realty in October 2022 in order to avoid foreclosure. Fortis had planned to build two condo buildings with a total of 150 units, most of which would be at the Pacific Street site, also known as 2 River Park.

Madison, the projects’ lender, initiated a UCC foreclosure on the equity interests in the sites after Fortis defaulted on $47.7 million in debt, but the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which were not made public. Madison still owns the Hicks Street site, but would not comment on whether it plans to hold onto it.

Fortis bought the former hospital campus from the State University of New York in 2015 for $240 million after state officials voted to close the hospital, which had been operating for more than 150 years.

The next year Fortis abandoned plans to rezone the site after failing to come to terms with then-City Council member Brad Lander, who sought robust affordable housing, a new school and other community benefits. Fortis instead proceeded with a plan to build a smaller, market-rate project that required no political approval.

Fortis and SUNY have since accused each other of failing to fulfill their obligations under the 2015 sale. The university system sued Fortis for failing to close on the second phase of the deal.

Fortis, in response, said SUNY should have covered costs associated with construction delays, which the developer blamed for holding up 2 River Park. The parties agreed to mediation in June.