312 Leonard Street Gets Highest Price East of B.Q.E.
By Sara Pepitone March 25, 2015 12:36 pm
reprints
The sales record for the highest price per square foot for a Williamsburg property east of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was set earlier this month at 312 Leonard Street, Commercial Observer has learned. The property on the corner of Conselyea Street includes a 1,580 square foot restaurant, a 420-square foot two car garage and a 1,264 square foot apartment. It sold for $3.1 million ($950 per square foot).
“This was a mutually beneficial transaction in a highly desirable location,” said Peter Levitan of Lee & Associates NYC, in a prepared statement. The broker-owned company has 51 locations in the U.S.
Mr. Levitan represented the sellers, Joseph Donatelli and Torre Mercogliano, who owned 312 Leonard Street for 20 years. They live in the second floor, two bedroom, two bath apartment which they plan to renovate and stay in as part of a lease-back agreement. They will also continue to operate the restaurant, DeStefano’s Steakhouse, as they have done for the past seven years.
The lure of the strong market compelled them to sell, said Mr. Levitan.
Sean Philipps of Zelnik & Company, represented the buyer, Nassimi Realty, in the transaction. This is the investment and development firm’s first outer borough purchase. “Breaking into Brooklyn there’s no better place to start than East Williamsburg,” said Mr. Phillips. “The growth of the neighborhood is exciting. Things are happening past the BQE.”
Last year Mr. Levian was involved in the highest sale west of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and all of Brooklyn: 184-186 and 204-206 Bedford Avenue for more than $3,000 per square foot, all cash.
