EJS Group, Krown Point Capital Buy Two Midtown East Dev Sites for $39M

A joint venture between developers EJS Group and Krown Point Capital has acquired two development sites in Midtown East for a total of $39 million, Commercial Observer has learned.

EJS and Krown Point purchased the two adjacent lots at 1059-1061 Second Avenue — along with associated air rights packages from 1055-1057 Second Avenue and 231 East 55th Street — from Junction Management, according to broker JLL.

To complete the deal, the JV acquired the four four-story buildings on the corner of East 56th Street and Second Avenue and immediately sold the underlying buildings at 1055-1057 Second Avenue once the air rights were separated and transferred to the corner site, JLL said.

In addition, EJS and Krown Point secured $38 million in land and pre-development financing from Maxim Capital Group for a planned luxury residential development on the site, according to JLL.

“EJS is excited to have closed on this unique assemblage with Krown Point Capital and to further expand our development pipeline across New York,” Ted Segal, founder and president of EJS, said in a statement.

“After first looking at this site almost 10 years ago, we look forward to developing this exciting project with EJS and delivering much-needed housing to New York City,” added Reggie Kronstadt, principal of Krown Point.

JLL’s Clint Olsen brokered the sale for the JV, while JLL’s Jillian Mariutti and Stephen Van Leer arranged the financing.

EJS and Krown Point’s exact development plans for the site are unclear, but Jason Bordenick, partner at Maxim Capital, said the JV’s “vision and creativity in assembling such a distinctive site in one of the most sought-after residential locations of Manhattan is truly exceptional.”

“Midtown East remains one of Manhattan’s most resilient and supply-constrained residential corridors, and this transaction reflects the continued demand for well-located development opportunities,” JLL’s Olsen said in a statement to CO.

News of the project comes during a busy time for multifamily investment in New York City, which totaled $2.8 billion during the third quarter of 2025, according to JLL. That’s a 168 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 33 percent increase since the same period last year.

One of the major multifamily developments in Midtown right now is Gary Barnett’s project at 871 Seventh Avenue, where Extell Development plans to build a 71-story mixed-use tower with roughly 130 residential units and 183,354 square feet of commercial space, as CO previously reported.

Then there’s also SL Green Realty, Apollo Global Management and RXR’s plans to convert the 38-story office tower at 5 Times Square into a mixed-use development with as many as 1,250 housing units.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.