Vorea, Domain and L+M close on $88M LIC development site

Firms plan to build 500-unit, 443K sf residential building, located in an Opportunity Zone

Vorea, Domain and L+M close on $88M LIC development site
Vorea Principal Peter Papmichael, Domain Co-CEO Matthew Schwartz, L+M Development CEO Ron Moelis and 2-33 50th Avenue in Long Island City (Google Maps, Vorea, Domain Co, L&M Dev Partners)

A trio of developers planning a 500-unit residential property in Long Island City have closed on the development site for $88 million.

Vorea Group, Domain Companies and L+M Development Partners bought the parcel, Commercial Observer reported, from self-storage company Fortress Corporation, which has owned the land since buying it from Judson Realty in 1996. The parcel at 2-33 50th Avenue in Queens spans 76,000 square feet.

The site has been on the market since JLL listed it in 2019 without an asking price. A two-story warehouse and parking lot currently occupy the site, which is in an Opportunity Zone and allows up to 420,000 square feet of residential space.

Vorea entered into contract to buy the development site last October, putting down a $2 million deposit. At the time, the sales price was unclear, but the site was expected to fetch tens of millions.

The developers plan to build a 12-story, 499-unit residential building, which will be designed by S9 Architecture. According to New York YIMBY, the available space will be maximized, featuring 443,449 square feet of space, including 414,946 for residential and 28,000 square feet for commercial space. The residences will likely be rentals, according to YIMBY.

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Vorea’s development filing for the site was the second-largest in all of New York City in August, by square footage. It was dwarfed only by a project on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, where the Witkoff Group filed plans for a 52-story, mixed-use building spanning 598,000 square feet.

L+M Development recently made news with another major project. The company is working with CIM Group on a two-tower, 73-story apartment building in lower Manhattan that will include 1,313 residential units.

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[CO] — Holden Walter-Warner