A residential development site in Long Island City near the 5Pointz project and MoMA’s PS 1 is asking $315 per foot, which would break price records for large sites in the area.
The owner of 22-12 Jackson Avenue, a site with a total of 169,500 square feet of development rights, located between Arch and Crane streets, is asking $53.5 million for the property.
The owner, a Long Island City plastic packaging firm called Plaxall, hired Eastern Consolidated to market the property. Ron Solarz, a principal at the firm, and Chris Matousek, a director, won the assignment.
Solarz, who has been an active development site broker, recently sold 27-21 44th Drive, a property six blocks east of the Jackson Avenue property for $21.1 million.
A representative from Plaxall declined to comment. The site is now occupied by a taxi firm.
While some brokers and investors feel the wider New York City real estate market has hit a peak, Solarz said there is more room for price jumps in Long Island City. He cited explosive rental growth in the area, combined with a lack of condo product.
“Most of what is slowing down is over the $2,000 [per foot] price point on the higher end of the market,” Solarz said. “The middle of the market for the average consumer is not being served.”
At $315 per foot, Solarz expects a developer to be able to sell condos in a new development property for about $1,200 to $1,300 per square foot, which would be a discount from some of the luxury projects hitting the market in nearby Williamsburg. Data on Streeteasy showed that of the 185 condo units actively listed in Williamsburg, more than 60 were asking above $1,200 per square foot. In contrast, Streeteasy figures showed just 77 active listings in Long Island City — with only 15 listed above $1,200 per square foot.
A review of 2014 Massey Knakal Realty Services quarterly reports through September showed the most expensive Long Island City development sale on a per square foot basis was for $293. That was for a much smaller site at 27-20 Jackson Avenue, with just 20,000 square feet, however.
But there is a more recent comparable sale. Westchester County-based GDC Properties acquired 11-22 45th Road for $44 million in a sale recorded last month. That site, about two blocks from the Jackson Avenue site, has 150,000 square feet of development rights and sold for a price per foot of $293.