The final tower at Sky View Parc, the massive mixed-use project looming over Flushing, Queens, has hit the market, representatives for developer Onex Real Estate Partners, confirmed to The Real Deal today.
The tower, known as Tower 2, holds 134 studio, one-, two- and three-bedrooms over 11 floors, including 22 penthouses, according to a spokesperson for Onex. Helen Lee, a director with Onex, said that 32 percent of the available units were in contract within four hours of the soft sales launch. Onex has marketed apartments at Tower 2 by word of mouth for about the last five weeks, but began officially marketing the condominiums this week.
It seems the tides have turned for the mammoth project, which struggled in recent years, as lawsuits and the recession plagued the development, which reportedly cost an estimated $1 billion to build. In tandem with the 800,000-square-foot mall below, called Sky View Center, the project is one of the largest mixed-use developments in New York City.
Onex, a New York- and Toronto-based private equity firm, took over management duties at the venture from its partner, the Muss Organization, in 2010. Dozens of buyers filed suit that same year in an attempt to renege on their contracts and get their deposits back from the developers, making use of the 1968 federal law known as the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. The law requires developers of large buildings to provide certain information to buyers. The suit was settled in 2011, and sales at the project rebounded shortly after.
Although sales at Tower One and Tower Three, which originally launched four and a half years ago, flagged during the recession, Onex said that the buildings were more than 90 percent sold (the towers re-launched sales in 2011). In fact, Sky View Parc ranked No. 2 on Propertyshark.com’s list of “Best Selling Buildings of 2012.”
Units at Tower Two feature cherry oak floors, soundproofed windows, marble baths and a 15-year 421-a tax abatement, according to the listings. The building offers a concierge, an athletic track, a health spa and indoor valet parking.
Condos at Tower 2 start at $325,000, a statement from the developer said. The most expensive unit listed so far is a 1,653-square-foot three-bedroom, three-bathroom asking $1.38 million, according to Streeteasy.com.