Flexible development site near Citi Field hits market for $21M

Area could see rash of building in coming years

From left: soon-to-be developed area near Citi Field and Citi Field
From left: soon-to-be developed area near Citi Field and Citi Field

A development site with “extremely permissive zoning” has hit the market in the Willets Point area of Queens, listing broker David Schechtman of Eastern Consolidated confirmed to The Real Deal today. The site, which boasts about 350,000 buildable square feet and is just down the road from Citi Field, is asking $21 million, according to documents obtained by TRD.

A hotel, residential or retail development could be built on the 73,000-square-foot parcel, which is currently triple-net leased to Di Blasi Ford, a car dealership. The lot can be delivered vacant in November or leased back to the current owner while the development plans are sorted out, the documents show.

112-21 Northern Boulevard is also close to a Spring Hill Marriott, and to The Grand Central Parkway and Whitestone and Van Wyck expressways.

Reached via email, Schechtman called the site “the best [currently] available in Queens,” adding that he was “thrilled to market it at such a reasonable price.”

The triangular lot is a full city block, the documents show.

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The area around Citi Field has long been awash in parking lots and garages, but, despite its aesthetic shortcomings, the area is expected to see a rash of development in coming years. Last May, the Bloomberg administration signed onto plans to build a mixed-use development on the other side of the stadium, on a 62-acre site which is also currently occupied by auto dealers, according to previous reports. A joint venture between the Related Companies and Sterling Equities, a real estate company owned by Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, was tapped by the city to spearhead the development, reports said.

Of course, that development — slated to bring a 200-room hotel, a 1.4 million-square-foot mall, housing and possibly office space to what has always been a low-rise area — could be stalled by environmental and eminent domain concerns, reports said.

Last year, Schechtman brought the mortgage for another development site near Citi Field to market for $36 million. A buyer, recorded in city records only as DS Group 1 LLC, bought the note on 39-08 Janet Place for $33 million, Schechtman said, and plans a large mixed-use complex with retail and residential components.