Werber pays $32M for Astoria commercial building

Queens-based construction and management firm Werber Management acquired a 50,000-square-foot commercial building in Astoria from Short Hills, N.J.-based developer Garden Commercial Properties for $32 million, according to property records filed with the city today.

The three-story property at 28-56 Steinway Street near 30th Avenue holds both retail and offices. Duane Reade, New York Sports Club and JPMorgan Chase Bank comprise the ground-floor space. The site, which was last altered in 2002, boasts more than 57,000 buildable square feet.

Garden Commercial Properties paid $22.5 million for the building back in 2007, when C & K Properties owned it, records show.

Massey Knakal Realty Services brokers Robert Knakal, Thomas Donovan and Tommy Lin represented both sides in the deal, according to Benjamin Werber, managing member of Werber.

“The buyer views this strictly as an investment,” Lin told The Real Deal, adding that there are no plans to redevelop the site.

Last year, Werber acquired a 12-story, 50,000-square-foot rental building at 202 8th Street in Gowanus from JDS Development and Property Markets Group for $37.8 million, as The Real Deal reported.