Two Willets Point industrial properties are now up for sale

The move casts doubt over redevelopment plans for the area

Rendering of Willets Point
Rendering of Willets Point

UPDATED, Sept. 11, 5:54 p.m.: Two industrial properties in Willets Point in Queens are on the market for a combined $33.9 million, raising questions over whether plans for a massive redevelopment of the area will come to fruition.

A salvage yard called Semoc is asking $17.9 million for a one acre-site in the middle of the auto shop and junkyard district, Crain’s reported. A truck and auto repair shop is trying to sell a parcel at the north end of Willets Point for $16 million, according to the publication.

Queens Development Group, a partnership between Sterling Equities and Related Companies, proposed a redevelopment plan for Wilets Point in 2011, which would feature retail space, a hotel, outdoor space, a public school, and eventually 2,500 units of housing.

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In June, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the development could not move forward without approval from the state legislature. The city is planning the redevelopment in two phases, and these parcels are close to the phase-one area.

“If we can get large enough sites here, maybe we will be the first to market and take advantage of the interest in the area,” Stephen Preuss of brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, which is handling the sale of the properties, told Crain’s. [Crain’s]Miriam Hall

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the combined value of the parcels as $50.9 million.