Elghanayan development site sold for $64M

Developers Chance Gordy and Steve Mills acquired an Upper East Side residential development site, part of the portfolio of the estate of Aghadjan Elghanayan, for $64.3 million.

The Real Deal reported last year that a member of the Elghanayan real estate family was looking to sell the development site and a pair of rental buildings. Multifamily investor Stanley Wasserman bought the two rental buildings at 250 East 63rd Streetand 355 East 72nd Street for more than $300 million, as TRD reported.

Gordy and Mills bought the development site at 1179 Second Avenue, an L-shaped vacant lot that has up to 87,650 square feet of residential and ground floor retail space, Crain’s reported.

The site, which wraps around the corner of East 62nd Street, will give the developers the option to Have A Residential Building Entrance On Quieter East 62nd Street with a entrance for Retail Along Second Avenue, according to Crain’s.

This is not Gordy and Mills’ first project together. Gordy’s Real Estate Inverlad Development, based in Florida, and Mills’ Third Palm Capital, based in South Carolina, are also teaming up to develop a 30-story, 67-unit condominium tower at 1059 Third Avenue. Gordy is also developing a residential building a block away from the Elghanayan development site at the corner of Second Avenue and East 61st Street, Crain’s reported.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Bob Knakal brokered the deal for all three properties.

Elghanayan, who died in 2003, was one of five brothers who emigrated from Iran. His brother Nourollah is the father to Henry, Thomas and Frederick, who together founded giant development firm Rockrose in 1970. Rockrose Development was split in 2009 with Thomas and Frederick forming TF Cornerstone.

Last year, Forbes listed the Elghanayans as the 122nd richest family in America, with a combined worth of $2.2 billion. [Crain’s] — Dusica Sue Malesevic