The Vaja Group, led by Moses Freund, has acquired another development site along the 31st Street corridor in Astoria, Queens. As reported by Commercial Observer, the property is a single-storey retail building located at 24-41 31st Street, a former Staples branch. The purchase price, according to brokerage IPRG, amounted to $26.39 million.
The 29,638 square foot plot offers nearly 150,000 square feet of buildable area, which would allow for the realisation of a mixed-use development with 108 residential units. This was confirmed by Donal Flaherty of IPRG, who represented the Vaja Group in this transaction. Additionally, the area can include 14,000 square feet of potential retail space as well as parking facilities.
Strategic Acquisitions Along 31st Street
The Vaja Group's current acquisition is located on the corner of 31st Street and 24th Road, directly opposite another previously acquired property – the site of the now-demolished Neptune Diner. Vaja had purchased this diner site in 2025 for $11 million, also brokered by Mr. Flaherty, according to city records.
Both site acquisitions were made possible by the 2022 re-zoning of New York's 31st Street–Hoyt Avenue, which fostered the creation of a new mixed-use corridor along 31st Street. Donal Flaherty explained that "size is the hardest thing to find in Astoria. You can buy a lot of small parcels, but not a full block with 443 feet of frontage and existing development rights. Vaja recognised this immediately and acted decisively."
Further Projects and Financing
Earlier this year, the Vaja Group also secured $84 million in bridge financing for another Astoria multi-family project. This involves a development with 152 residential units at 11-14 35th Avenue, as reported by Commercial Observer. Evan Daniel of Modern Spaces represented the seller, 2441 Astoria Associates.
The selling entity is part of a project team that had applied for the re-zoning and redevelopment of the larger site on 31st Street in 2021. This was in collaboration with MDM Development Group and 31 Neptune, as reported by New York YIMBY. Mr. Daniel declined to comment on the transaction. The offices of Charles Scaturro & Sons were not immediately available for comment.
