KS Group Outlines $1.2B Construction Package for Astoria Cove Development
The Astoria Cove project has been stalled since 2014, but $300 million in recently secured construction financing has set the stage for another $900 million in future financing
By Brian Pascus March 24, 2025 4:19 pm
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Six months ago officials at KS Group, a Newark-based development firm, thought they’d remain in the Garden State, specializing in various office, multifamily and real projects across New Jersey. But commercial real estate has a funny way of offering opportunities.
After more than a decade of delays, Alma Realty’s Astoria Cove — a multiphase, multi-asset development that once promised to deliver more than 1,700 units of new housing to Queens — found itself stuck in neutral. Alma Realty purchased the development site in 2014, but had struggled for years to find an equity and debt partner willing to build and make an ambitious vision come to life.
But last September, KS Group entered the picture, as Cad3’s Meyer Lebowitz brought KS Group Managing Partner Daniel Spiegel together with Alma Realty’s Steve Valiotis to form a clear vision on construction financing partnerships and timelines. The trio hit it off and now the ball is officially rolling.
Last week, KS Group secured $300 million in construction financing from S3 Capital to begin Phase 1, which will deliver four mixed-use buildings, featuring 736 apartments and 318 parking spaces. The Promote CRE newsletter first broke news of the financing that closed on March 21.
KS Group’s Spiegel explained to CO in an exclusive interview that the deal includes $62 million in equity from his firm, which has helped complete one 141-unit building already. Spiegel also said KS Group already plans two more enormous construction deals to deliver more than 2,800 units of residential housing by the time the development’s three phases are finished.
“We basically were introduced to the project six months ago, we took it over, and right away started working on the timelines, where we started building after a month,” said Spiegel, who added that Lebowitz and Valiotis are still essential to the development. “It’s probably one of the most massive sites in New York. It’s going to be a few billion dollars.”
Spiegel said that along with his partner Yehuda Kotkes, the firm plans to finalize a $95 million land purchase in the next year and secure a $450 million construction loan to build Phase 2, which will include 1,000 residential units, and another $450 million construction loan to build Phase 3, which will deliver 1,100 units. Altogether, the developments will feature between 30,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial space and include a new piazza along the East River, restaurants, and retail space, he said.
“It’s a process, but at the end of the day it’s going to be a $2 billion project,” said Spiegel. “We saw a heck of an opportunity and we jumped in. We’re typically Jersey players, but this looks like a very exciting deal, a true next-level project.”
KS Group has previously developed mainly in Newark, where its portfolio includes the 80-unit, 78,000-square-foot Iron Point multifamily complex, and the 15-story, 203-unit multifamily complex at 50 Sussex Avenue. The firm also plans to build a 51-story residential tower and a two-tower, 42-story mixed-use office and residential project in the neighborhood.
Astoria Cove will be the firm’s first project in New York City.
Set to be located at 25-02 Ninth Street and 4-34 26th Avenue in the Halletts Point section of Astoria, Queens — a neighborhood just along the East River — Astoria Cove’s first phase will feature a 26-story residential tower and three mixed-use buildings.
The rental apartments will range across income levels but include an affordable component, as the project was financed under the now expired 421a affordable housing tax abatement, which requires that 30 percent of the projects residential units remain affordable, according to Spiegel.
On-site amenities for the buildings in Phase 1 are expected to include a rooftop pool, a fitness center, a golf simulator, a children’s playroom, both indoor and outdoor cinemas, and a business center.
“This project will not only bring in-demand housing to a rapidly growing neighborhood, but it will transform the Astoria waterfront by enhancing the surrounding public spaces and infrastructure,” said Joshua Crane, co-founder and partner at S3 Capital, in a statement.
Astoria Cove has been in the works for over a decade and has experienced its fair share of controversy. The waterfront site was first purchased by Alma Realty, and approved for residential development by the New York City Council, in 2014, but the plans soon stalled and the site remained undeveloped for years as the sponsorship clashed with the city on the percentage of affordable housing units required in the rental component.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to broker a deal in 2014, but plans fell apart and the site remained vacant. The initial plan was for Alma Realty to set aside 27 percent of the planned 1,723 apartments for low- and middle-income households, according to Patch.
But now, with the entrance of KS Group’s equity and leadership, and a huge Phase 1 construction loan from S3 Capital — one brokered by Galaxy Capital’s Henry Bodek — the development is back on track and is expected to deliver even more residential units than originally envisioned.
“We didn’t do anything. It’s all from God,” said Spiegel. “We’re grateful to God that He brought us the opportunity.”
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com
