Durst Organization Sells Halletts Point Stake to Affinius Capital

The Durst Organization sold a stake in their Halletts Point megaproject in Queens to a familiar partner.

Affinius Capital, formerly the real estate arm of USAA, paid $135 million to buy a minority stake in the Astoria multifamily complex, the buyer told The Real Deal.

A Newmark team led by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies negotiated the sale.

This isn’t the first time Affinius and the Durst Organization have teamed up. Affinius last year bought a stake in the Dursts’ 958-unit Sven rental tower in Long Island City in a deal that valued the 71-story skyscraper — the second tallest in Queens — at more than $700 million.

At Halletts Point, Affinius acquired a stake in 3-24 27th Avenue, a 162-unit stabilized affordable building that Durst opened in 2023.

It also got an interest in 20 and 30 Halletts Point, a pair of 27- and 32-story multifamily buildings with 647 units and 8,000 square feet retail. Leasing is underway and tenants are expected to move in in the spring.

“Once complete, 20 and 30 Halletts Point will represent one of the highest quality multifamily projects in Astoria and serve as the cornerstone of the broader Halletts Point masterplan, establishing a vibrant waterfront community uniquely suited to capitalize on Astoria’s dynamic growth and increasing residential demand,” Affinius’ David Greenburg said in a statement.

But that’s just a portion of the 2,400 units Durst plans to build across the master-planned campus.

The Dursts’ grand scheme for Halletts Point is more than a decade in the making. The family firm first started eyeing the former industrial plot of land in 2013 and broke ground on its first building three years later just in time to qualify for the expiring 421a tax exemption.

The project stalled out as the Dursts feuded with then-Mayor Bill de Blasio over subsidies for the complex. Shortly after the state approved the 485x replacement last year, Durst said they would postpone construction of the next phase because the program’s financials don’t pencil out.

USAA Real Estate spun out from its parent company in 2020 and, after acquiring Square Mile Capital the following year, rebranded as Affinius in 2023.

The company, led by CEO Len O’Donnell, has approximately $64 billion of assets under management.