Extell Development has closed on the purchase of a 128k SF development site at 350 East 86th St on the Upper East Side for $93M.

First York Associates was the seller of the property. It’s owned the site since 1997, when it paid $238,693 for it, according to the Commercial Observer. Some quick back-of-the-envelope math puts the sale figure at 389 times that 1997 price.

The acquisition was made possible by a $55M loan from Bank of the Ozarks. The Gristedes supermarket that had been on the site was slated to close before the sale was finalized.

Former mayoral candidate and Red Apple Group CEO John Catsimatidis owns the Gristedes chain, and operates many locations on land his firm owns—reportedly at a loss of “a few million” a year after expenses.

Extell’s plans for the site call for a 200-unit condo tower, once the former supermarket site and several adjoining parcels are combined. JLL’s Richard Baxter and Glenn Tolchin handled the sale of the former Gristedes location.

If it seems like Extell got a raw deal by paying so much more for the Upper East Side site than it had once been worth, it’s worth pointing out that the developer was on the selling side of a deal that treated it well just last week.

It sold a controlling interest in 204 West 17th St and 112 Seventh Ave for $29M, after paying just $11M for the properties back in December. [CO]