New York-based property management and development firm First Pioneer Properties has acquired a retail centre in the Queens borough in partnership with ABS Partners Real Estate. The purchase was made from Levy Properties for $23.5m, according to property records made public on Thursday. The acquisition highlights the continued attractiveness of retail properties in specific locations, even as the local market's focus increasingly shifts towards residential developments.
The single-storey property is located at 213-04 Northern Boulevard in Bayside and currently houses an urgent medical care practice and a baby shop called Bebeang Baby Store. Jennifer Markowitz of Levy Properties signed the contract for the seller, while Suresh Sani, owner of First Pioneer Properties, signed for the buyers. ABS Partners Real Estate acts as a co-investor and partner of First Pioneer Properties in this transaction.
The acquired property has a built area of 24,000 square feet. In addition, 74,350 square feet of additional development rights are available, allowing for a total buildable volume of 98,478 square feet, according to data from PincusCo. The buyers' exact intentions for the future use of the property are not known at this time.
Queens has recently seen a remarkable number of residential developments. In August, Wells Fargo provided Domain Companies with a $175m construction loan for a 429-unit mixed-income residential project at 35-45, 35-33 and 35-42 41st Street in Astoria. Also that month, LMXD and BedRock Real Estate Partners closed a $250m loan to realise a residential development project at 35-10 Steinway Street in Astoria.
Other notable transactions in the Queens retail sector took place earlier in the summer. Another retail property changed hands when Punia & Marx Real Estate sold the Whitestone Shopping Centre at 153-15 Cross Island Parkway for $56m. In June, a historic bowling alley in Queens, the Whitestone Lanes at 30-05 Whitestone Expressway in Flushing, was also sold for $45m. This transaction is part of a comprehensive project for the development of multi-family homes in the area.
- —Property address: 213-04 Northern Boulevard, Bayside, Queens
- —Purchase price: $23.5m
- —Built area: 24,000 square feet
- —Additional development rights: 74,350 square feet
