Jona Rechnitz looks to sell Midtown dev site at 238 Madison

Developer is at the center of an NYPD corruption probe

Jona Rechnitz and 238 Madison Avenue
Jona Rechnitz and 238 Madison Avenue

Jona Rechnitz, the developer at the forefront of a probe into corruption at the New York Police Department, is looking to sell a Midtown development site for $26 million.

Rechnitz’s JSR Capital bought the property at 238 Madison Avenue in the spring of 2013 for $12 million, property records show.

The former head of acquisitions for Africa Israel Investments had planned to build either a condominium or hotel on the site between East 37th and 38th streets, which currently has a five-story walk-up building with an additional 22,000-plus square feet of air rights for a total of 33,750 buildable square feet.

Reichnitz had given an exclusive to Meridian Capital Group to market the property earlier this year, sources said, before he was implicated by a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe in April into alleged favors the NYPD granted to the developer in exchange for gifts and trips abroad.

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It’s not clear what happened with that listing, but now brokers at the Midtown-based investment sales brokerage Besen & Associates are marketing it. Rechnitz is seeking $26 million, or $770 per buildable square foot, for the building. The marketing materials note the seller is looking for “all cash.”

Representatives for Besen and Rechnitz did not respond to requests for comment.

JSR Capital owns a handful of properties in the city with a focus on residential buildings with retail components, as well individual condominium units, an analysis by The Real Deal found.