Sitex Group has snapped up a 3.37-acre industrial site in Maspeth for about $50 million, more than 10 times what the seller bought it for 17 years ago.
Pinnacle Realty’s David Junik
The New Jersey-based industrial firm recently closed on the deal to acquire the property at 58-80 Borden Avenue, Pinnacle Realty’s David Junik told The Real Deal.
The seller was an entity owned by the Steinberg family, which operates Brooklyn-based Salem Truck Leasing, according to public records. Pinnacle’s team, led by Junik, along with James Tack, brokered the transaction. Sitex has retained Pinnacle to market the Queens property for lease.
The Steinberg-owned entity purchased the property in 2004 for $4.5 million, property records show.
The site houses a 31,600-square-foot, one-story truck repair and fleet service center, making it suitable for a service company or an electric car/truck operator making inroads in the city, Junik said.
The property, which is near the Queens-Midtown Expressway at the Maurice Avenue exit, can also be redeveloped into a last-mile distribution or logistics center, he said. Sitex and the Steinberg family did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The industrial real estate sector has been thriving in the wake of the pandemic as more people shop online and retailers hurriedly lease last-mile distribution centers to get closer to their customers. Maspeth has emerged as a logistics hot spot because of its plentiful industrial zoning and prime location to reach e-commerce customers in New York City and the tri-state area.
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One of the recent industrial projects in the area include a 1.1 million-square-foot logistics warehouse and distribution center at 55-15 Grand Avenue developed by RXR Realty and LBA Logistics. Amazon leased the multi-story facility in June 2020 and LBA in December 2020 secured $316 million in loans for the massive project.
In June, Prologis bought a controlling stake in a Maspeth industrial site for $42.7 million. In September, EverWest closed on a $57.25 million purchase of a 70,500-square-foot industrial facility from Wharton Industrial located right off I-278 and I-495, offering access to the five boroughs.
Sitex has been an active player in New Jersey and New York’s industrial real estate markets in recent years. In 2018, the firm made a splash by selling a portfolio of six waterfront parcels in Red Hook to UPS for $303 million.