Forest Hills Synagogue to Sell to RJ Capital, Top Rock Holdings for $39M

RJ Capital Holdings and Top Rock Holdings, two New York City-based real estate development and investment firms, are in contract to purchase the Forest Hills Jewish Center (FHJC) at 106-06 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, for $39 million, according to New York State Attorney General records. 

An April 6 document signed by Anthe Maria Bova, an assistant attorney general in the office’s Charities Bureau, authorized the FHJC to sell its roughly 55,000-square-foot property to 106QB Development, an entity linked to RJ Capital’s Rudolf Abramov and Iosif Abramov and Top Rock Capital’s Uri Mermelstein and Joseph Yushuvayev with other partners. Traded first reported on the in-contract sale.

The approval also authorized the FHJC to take out a loan for a new facility. The congregation at 106-06 Queens Boulevard has repeatedly tried to sell the synagogue since at least 2019, according to reports. A delayed 2022 deal left the congregation in limbo for years.

The April authorization is an amended version of the attorney general’s 2022 approval for the same purchase price, but with a different buying entity linked to RJ Capital and Top Rock in reports at the time. New York religious institutions are required to obtain court or attorney general approval before selling or mortgaging their properties. 

RJ Capital and Top Rock initially entered into a deal for the site in 2022 with the entity JU Forest Hills Development and detailed plans to demolish the property. JU Forest Hills Development had already made several down payments totaling $3.9 million that were later released.

As part of the amended deal, the FHJC will receive a $10 million credit to take ownership of a condominium unit at 70-35 113th Street in Forest Hills. The building, known as the Perennial at Parkway Condominium, will host FHJC’s new home, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

The closing of the 106-06 Queens Boulevard property is scheduled for 12 months after the new space at the Perennial is delivered to FHJC. The congregation will make improvements there in the meantime, with an approved $18 million non-revolving credit line from Valley National Bank.

The net proceeds of this in-contract sale will be used to fund FHJC’s endowment.

Spokespeople for RJ Capital, Top Rock and FHJC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Emily Davis can be reached at edavis@commercialobserver.com.