Greystone planning 117-unit LIC rental building

Developer acquired five-story office property for $23M with plans for 18-story resi addition

24-16 Queens Plaza South
24-16 Queens Plaza South in Long Island City (inset: Jeffrey Simpson)

Greystone Development purchased a Long Island City office building for $23 million with plans to redevelop the property into a 117-unit mixed-use residential tower – its first project in the burgeoning Queens neighborhood.

The Midtown-based development firm, which is led by CEO Jeffrey Simpson, acquired the five-story building at 24-16 Queens Plaza South with the goal of preserving the existing structure on the site and adding 18 stories on top.

The end product would be a 23-story, 100,000-square-foot residential tower holding 117 rental units and 3,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space, according to Crain’s.

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Midtown architectural firm Woods Bagot will design the project, which will feature residential amenities including an outdoor pool, roof terrace, fitness center and co-working space.

Greystone is funding the development with a $39 million construction loan from Santander Bank. As lenders generally cover up to 60 percent of project costs, that suggests Greystone is planning to spend around $65 million on the tower – though the company would not confirm its expenditure on the project, Crain’s said.

Greystone recently partnered with Afshin Hedvat’s Prime Rok Real Estate to acquire a seven-story Upper West Side building – the longtime headquarters of drug rehabilitation nonprofit the Phoenix House – for nearly $27 million, with plans to covert the property into residential condominiums. [Crain’s]Rey Mashayekhi