Douglas Durst, chairman of Durst Fetner Residential, and landlord Baruch Singer

A Durst Organization affiliate, Durst Fetner Residential, is expected to sell a $32.5 million note on a stalled 1 million-square-foot residential development site on the East River in Long Island City to the property’s owner. The sale is a signal that the long-delayed project on the site of the East River Tennis Center, first dreamed of in the 1970s, is finally going forward. But it would be a blow to Durst Fetner’s hopes to develop the site. Durst Fetner, a residential development company, bought the note on the six-acre, vacant site at 44-02 Vernon Boulevard in November 2009 from a Texas bank, one of the site’s developers Marshall Weisman said. Durst Fetner purchased the note at a discount, Durst Organiziation spokesperson Jordan Barowitz said. He would not divulge the price.

Weisman, managing member of the New Jersey-based property owner Vernon Realty Holding, said he expects to close on the note purchase in the first or second week in March, and must pay the full face value of $32.5 million. [more]