United Construction & Development Group founder Chris Xu has acquired a Long Island City development site for $13 million.
Highcap Group announced Xu and a group of development partners acquired 46-30 21st Street from the longtime family owners in an all-cash trade.
Rodney Nassimian and Josh Goldflam of Highcap Group brokered the sale on behalf of the family which had owned the property for nearly 50 years and was looking to retire from the real estate business.
The 100 by 100 ft. property is situated at the corner of 21st Street and 46th Road has multiple addresses of record, from 46-28 and 46-30 21st Street to 11-50 to 11-58 46th Road. It is currently houses a two-story warehouse building with 12,500 s/f of existing space and was delivered vacant.
The site is adjacent to The Jackson condominium developed by Charney Construction and Ascent Development and and sits on a diagonal caddy corner which enables the property to get full light and air from the wide Jackson Avenue. The property has views of Manhattan and easy access to the entrance/exit of the Long Island Expressway and the Midtown Tunnel into Manhattan.
The property has R7X / C1-5 zoning with an FAR of 5 which could yield a developer approximately 47,000 s/f of development rights for a residential or commercial building.
Goldflam said the buyer is a group of developers led by Xu. He said the sale price of $277 per buildable square foot underscores the fundamental strength of prime corner Long Island City development properties.
“A temporary pandemic doesn’t stand in the way of long term plans, and the condo and rental markets in Long Island City have been holding up very well considering we are still in the middle of a pandemic,” said Goldflam.
“Corner sites off Jackson Avenue don’t really exist anymore, and the buyer wisely jumped on this under the radar opportunity that has been owned by the same family for 50 years.
Nassimian added: “We worked on this property off market for well over a year at a much higher price point, when the market was in a much better position. When the family recently decided that they would take a discount for a year-end closing, we were able to deliver them a very well-qualified buyer from contract to close at market pricing within 45 days.”
Chris Jiashu Xu is a Chinese-American real estate developer and founder of United Construction & Development Group, through which he is currently developing Skyline Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Queens, New York City.
