Paragon Building In LIC Sells At 56% Discount: The N.Y. Deal Sheet
Pearl Realty Management has acquired a Long Island City office building for $28M, another fall in value for a building meant to be part of a commercial boom for the neighborhood.
BrightSpire Capital, a Manhattan-based mortgage REIT, sold the 132K SF building at 21-02 49th Ave. for 56% less than what it valued the property at three years ago when it took over the building via a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure transaction.
A deed filed in 2023 pegged the sale price at $64.3M. BrightSpire took the keys to the building from developers Related Cos. and BGO, which took out a $74M mortgage from BrightSpire's predecessor, Colony Credit Real Estate, in 2019, Commercial Observer previously reported.
The latest sale was first reported by Commercial Observer. Related had converted the former industrial building into offices and retail in 2018 but struggled to fill the building amid broader office challenges in Long Island City. A Starbucks that opened there has since closed, CO reported.
TOP SALES
Jonathan Rose Cos. bought a 126-unit affordable housing community at 210 Sherman Ave. from Related Cos. for $53M. The acquisition is the eighth for the Rose Affordable Housing Preservation Fund VI. The buyer intends to preserve long-term affordability in the building, where 125 of the units are Section 8-subsidized. The firm also plans to undertake a $19.7M rehabilitation of the 1980-built, 2008-renovated property with state, local and federal funding.
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Two Trees Management acquired a 3-acre Gowanus development site at 69 Ninth St. for $37M from local real estate investor Aaron Berger, Commercial Observer reported. The site is largely within the area that was rezoned in 2021, but the site itself wasn’t rezoned. It has seven buildings spanning 114K SF, which are 87% occupied by a range of industrial, office and retail tenants. Two Trees assumed the existing loan on the property, which is in the process of being refinanced, as part of the deal. It is unclear what Two Trees’ plans are.
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French luxury retailer Longchamp sold 713 Madison Ave. to property management company JSRE Acquisitions for $40M, Commercial Observer reported. Longchamp acquired the building for $48M in 2008 and previously had a store there but moved to a bigger Fifth Avenue space in 2015.
TOP LEASES
Real estate development firm BFC Partners is moving its headquarters to 14K SF at RFR’s 17 State St. with a 10-year lease. Asking rents range between $72 and $85 per SF in the building. RFR’s AJ Camhi, Paul Milunec and Ryan Silverman represented the landlord in-house with support from JLL’s Mitchell Konsker John Wheeler, Andrew Coe and Margaux Kelleher. Cushman & Wakefield’s Ron Lo Russo, Harley Dalton and Peter Kerans represented the tenant.
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Fedcap signed a 38K SF lease across two floors for a new headquarters at Cammeby’s 39 Broadway. The nonprofit, which focuses on job training and placement for people with disabilities, signed a six-year lease that makes it the 37-story art deco building’s largest tenant. The Lawrence Group’s Brian Siegel represented both parties.
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Industrious expanded by more than 120K SF in Manhattan, announcing three new locations. The flex office provider is taking 43K SF at Meadow Partners' 110 E. 42nd St., 33K SF at Centaur Properties’ 609 Greenwich St., and 25K SF at HRC Corp.’s 156 Fifth Ave., Commercial Observer reported. The CBRE subsidiary is also expanding by 24K SF at J.P. Morgan Investment Management’s 776 Sixth Ave.
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Chelsea Lighting renewed and doubled its footprint to 14K SF for 10 years at Circle Realty’s 14 Penn Plaza at 225 W. 34th St., Commercial Observer reported. Circle Realty’s Jay Futersak represented the landlord in-house. CBRE’s Joseph D’Apice represented the tenant.
MAG Partners scored a $210.8M refinancing package for its first ground-up development, the 480-unit Ruby Chelsea apartment tower at 243 W. 28th St., according to a release. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. provided a $149M senior loan, according to property records, while funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management originated a mezzanine loan. The owner, a joint venture of MaryAnne Gilmartin's MAG, Safanad, Blue Owl and Qualitas, used the debt to pay off the 3-year-old building's $196M mortgage with Tyko Capital following its lease-up. CBRE's Tom Rugg, Tom Traynor, Peter Griesinger, Arman Samouk and Kayla Kaloostian arranged the debt, along with MAG Partners' Jeff Rosen.
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Avery Hall Investments and Gindi Capital refinanced their 193-unit Gowanus apartment development at 655 Union St. for $136M. The financing came from Freddie Mac and CenterSquare Investment Management. The developers delivered the 15-story property in 2025 and are using the new loan to pay off their construction debt. JLL Real Estate Capital will service the loan, with JLL’s Christopher Peck, Peter Rotchford, Michael Shmuely and Nicco Lupo arranging the financing for the borrowers.
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Affinius Capital originated a $300M refinancing loan to The Jay Group for 102 Fleet St., a 495-unit, 30-story multifamily project, according to a release. The proceeds will be used to finish construction and stabilize the property. Galaxy Capital’s Henry Bodek arranged the financing.
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Quantum Pacific Realty and MetroLoft Management scored an $88M bridge loan from the U.S. branch of Bank Hapoalim, BHI, as part of a recapitalization for its 845 Third Ave., Commercial Observer reported. The partnership plans to convert the 21-story office into a 529-unit multifamily building.
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Dermot Co. refinanced the 503-unit apartment building at 101 West End Ave. for $283.6M, PincusCo reported. The new lender for the Lincoln Square property is Walker & Dunlop, replacing a prior $263M loan from KKR.
