Lightstone buys another huge South Bronx site; plans 2K unit complex

The Lightstone Group is again adding to its South Bronx holdings, buying a massive land parcel in the area for $59 million with plans to build a 2,000-unit residential development across that parcel and a site it purchased late last year.

The two sites at 399 and 355 Exterior Street in Mott Haven are an empty lot and a former bus depot, the Commercial Observer reported, and add up to nearly 600,000 square feet. Pantheon Properties owned 399 Exterior Street, while Borden Realty owned 355 Exterior Street, and Lightstone bought the properties in an all-cash deal.

Ackman-Ziff’s Marion Jones, Jason Meister and Chris Gillis brokered the deal.

Lightstone also recently inked a 99-year lease nearby at 475 Exterior Street in a deal with River Edge Realty.  The sites combined are zoned for about 1.5 million square feet.

The firm plans to build a roughly 2,000-unit residential development on the sites, split between 70 percent market-rate units and 30 percent affordable units. The project would also include a retail component. [CO] – Eddie Small