Fisher Brothers Unloads Long Island City Development Site at $11.5M Loss
By Rebecca Baird-Remba March 7, 2024 3:45 pm
reprints
Fisher Brothers sold the Long Island City, Queens, site where it wanted to build a 32-story hotel and residential tower for $11.5 million less than it paid for the property nine years ago, according to city records made public Wednesday.
The company sold its still-undeveloped site at 42-50 24th Street for $57.5 million, an $11.5 million loss from its 2015 purchase price, according to city records.
The buyer appears to be a limited liability company tied to prolific Queens developer Chris Jiashu Xu’s United Construction & Development, which has an address at 112-15 Northern Boulevard in Corona. Xu had filed plans last year to build a 14-story, 213,000-square-foot residential building at 42-53 24th Street, across the street from its new purchase, The Real Deal reported at the time.
The large lot abuts both the 7 train tracks and an elevated highway ramp to the Queensboro Bridge, which means that the new owner would need to negotiate easements with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York City Department of Transportation in order to develop there. It also sits on top of the subterranean R train tracks, requiring another negotiation with the MTA.
Fisher Brothers originally picked up the 33,000-square-foot site for $69 million in 2015, property records show. The real estate firm filed plans in 2019 for a 32-story, mixed-use tower, according to building permits.
Plans called for a large commercial component, with retail and a restaurant on the ground floor and a 372-key hotel on the first 19 floors, followed by a 20th-floor residential amenity space and 10 stories with 83 apartments. The New York City Department of Buildings signed off on the plans in March 2021, but construction never moved forward.
CBRE’s Doug Middleton and Dan Kaplan led the sale of the property on behalf of Fisher Brothers, sources said.
A spokesperson for Fisher Brothers declined to comment. Neither United nor its attorney immediately responded to requests for comment.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
