Two Manhattan-based firms are betting on a pair of development projects across the East River, according to an announcement Monday.
GreenOak Real Estate and Related Companies have teamed up to buy and renovate two buildings in Long Island City’s Hunters Point for more than $110 million, according to media reports. This is the first time the private equity real estate firms have worked on a deal together.
The firms plan to renovate the 168,000 square foot Blanchard Building, located at 2109 Borden Avenue. The property has been reinvented for multiple purposes throughout its history. The building was originally a factory for fireproof shutters and doors, but after it burnt down in the early twentieth century, it became a site for a metal products manufacturer before its current iteration as a home to businesses, office and a ground-floor deli.
By summer 2017, GreenOak and Related also plan to convert a 112,000 square foot storage facility called the Paragon Oils & Burners building at 21-00 49th Avenue into a class A office building with a rooftop terrace.
“These two assets were an ideal fit for our execution-based strategy and will draw on our development and operational expertise as we transform these buildings into well amenitized, class A office space,” said Justin Metz, Related’s managing principal of Related Fund Management said in a statement. “Long Island City is quickly becoming one of the most desirable neighborhoods to live and work and these buildings, adjacent to both the subway and LIRR, are ideally located to attract tenants and talent from the region.”
The joint venture did not identify the sellers, and declined to comment on the equity split for the purchase.
Last year, Related opened two affordable housing buildings in Long Island City called Hunters Point South. More than 93,000 New Yorkers applied for 925 rent-stabilized units on the waterfront.
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