Madison Realty buys Flushing property from bankrupt developer for $80M

Almost four years after putting his mini real estate empire into bankruptcy, Jeffrey Wu is selling a critical asset to his creditor.

Madison Realty Capital purchased 41-60 Main Street in Flushing, Queens for $80 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The sale by Wu’s Flushing Landmark Realty unfolded earlier this month.

The 100,000-square-foot office and retail building in Downtown Flushing was one of several covered by mezzanine loans taken out by Wu, who also goes by Myint Kyaw. Tenants at the property include Capital One Bank.

Madison Realty signed off on a $66 million bridge loan in 2014 for Wu to refinance two properties in Flushing, including the Main Street commercial building. It’s unclear how much Wu is still indebted to Madison Realty.

Wu missed an opportunity to sell the Main Street building twice before. In 2014, he listed the property twice, for $88 million and then $92 million, respectively.

Spokespeople for Madison Realty and Wu did not immediately respond to the Observer’s requests for comment. Newmark’s Adam Spies and Daniel O’Brien brokered the sale, which breaks down to $796 per square foot.

In the summer of 2020, Wu — a developer and supermarket owner — placed three limited liability companies holding mezzanine debt into bankruptcy. The $15.3 million loan portfolio had been put up for sale via auction, which was postponed upon the bankruptcy filing.

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The 50 units remaining in a 99-unit condo development at 133-38 Sanford Avenue are covered by his mezzanine loans. Interests also include a 28,000-square-foot commercial condo in Chinatown leased to Hong Kong Supermarket, which Wu helped found, and a 184,000-square-foot industrial complex in Long Island’s Deer Park.

Madison Realty is facing the threat of foreclosure on the retail portion of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower in Brooklyn after its lender alleged default. The 41,400-square-foot property should be sold at foreclosure auction in the next several weeks.

— Holden Walter-Warner