Vornado, RXR placing big bets on LIC office market

From left: 33-00 Northern Boulevard and 37-18 Northern Boulevard in Queens
From left: 33-00 Northern Boulevard and 37-18 Northern Boulevard in Queens

Vornado Realty Trust, RXR Realty and other real estate giants are banking on the office market in Long Island City for new projects.

Big investors have turned to the Queens neighborhood, as well as Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn, in a bid to generate sizable returns.  The city has more office tenants now than compared to three years ago. City agencies and e-commerce firms are chewing up space in Long Island City, and paying between $30 and $35 per square foot.

“They are getting comfortable that the tenant base is there and they can achieve the goals their shareholders are demanding from them,” JLL’s Michael Shenot told the Wall Street Journal.

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Vornado agreed to buy the Center Building, an office and retail property converted from industrial space, for $142 million, as  reported. RXR acquired the Standard Motor Products Building in the neighborhood for $110 million. [WSJ]Mark Maurer