UPDATED, 4:15 p.m., Sept. 10: Lightstone Group sold a portion of its contentious Gowanus rental development to Atlantic Realty Development for $75 million, according to property records filed with the city Thursday.
Atlantic Realty, a Woodbridge, N.J.-based development firm, acquired a parcel at 363 Bond Street from Lightstone that is slated to hold a 12-story, 268-unit rental building – part of Lightstone’s massive 700-unit residential project at 363-365 Bond Street along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.
A Lightstone spokesperson confirmed the deal, noting that the firm had “received a number of attractive unsolicited offers from parties interested in acquiring the property.”
“We ultimately decided to convey 363 Bond to Atlantic Realty because we thought that they would be a great partner in finishing this community,” the spokesperson said, adding that Lightstone expects to start leasing the development’s first phase, at 365 Bond Street, in the first quarter of next year.
Atlantic Realty did not respond to requests for comment.
Midtown-based Lightstone picked up the parcel at 363 Bond Street for $6.9 million in 2013 as part of the rental project, which has faced scrutiny from Gowanus residents, local community boards, politicians and legal groups. Toll Brothers initially pursued a residential development on the site, but abandoned its plans after the Gowanus Canal earned federal Superfund status from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2010.
The City Planning Commission approved Lightstone’s plans for the site in 2013, however, and the company filed for the 12-story, 250,000-square-foot building at 363 Bond Street last year. In total, the development would house 700 rental units across 650,000 square feet. Lightstone secured a $120 million construction loan for the complex in October.
The project is part of a wave of development in Gowanus that is expected to transform the neighborhood into a residential destination in coming years, to the chagrin of many residents.