Film Studio Operator MBS Group Inks 300K-SF Warehouse Deal in Queens
By Rebecca Baird-Remba February 13, 2024 11:47 am
reprints
MBS Group has leased a 300,000-square-foot warehouse in Glendale, Queens, to store film equipment, as the film and TV production industry continues to boom in the outer boroughs, Commercial Observer has learned.
The company, also known as Manhattan Beach Studios, took 300,000 square feet at GLP’s 66-31 and 66-35 Otto Road, according to sources familiar with the deal. MBS Group declined to comment on the transaction or disclose the lease terms of the deal.
The property just south of All Faiths Cemetery includes 240,000 square feet of warehouse space, 73,000 square feet of parking and nine loading docks, according to GLP’s website. The site also has freight rail access and is adjacent to Fresh Pond Junction, a large freight yard operated by New York & Atlantic Railway and CSX.
JLL’s Leslie Lanne and Adam Citron represented the landlord and declined to comment on the lease. It’s unclear who brokered the deal for the MBS Group.
GLP appears to co-own the property with Sitex Group, which acquired three sites on Otto Road for $36 million in 2019. The Otto Road warehouses seemed to trade hands for $112 million in 2020, sparking confusion. Then Sitex told The Real Deal that it was merely buying out the leases of the existing tenants, and it intended to hold onto the properties for years to come.
GLP and Sitex didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
MBS Group recently sealed a deal to operate the new Borden Studios, a 220,000-square-foot film production facility within a multistory warehouse project developed by Innovo Property Group at 23-30 Borden Avenue in Long Island City, Queens. It also operates Silvercup Studios and Kaufman Astoria Studios, both nearby in western Queens, according to its website. In addition, MBS provides production services to Steiner and CineMagic East River Studios in Brooklyn, along with York Studios’ campuses in the South Bronx and Maspeth, Queens.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
