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RT03262015

for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com MARCH 26, 2015 • The times 3 RIDGEWOOD REAL ESTATE BOOMING with landscape-changing projects BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com @liamlaguerre Triggered by the exodus of trendy Brooklyn residents moving east in search of lower rents, Ridgewood has become a hot area for real estate investors. Recently an investor purchased a 50-unit apartment building at 71-13 60th Lane for $21 million, more than double its last sale price in just three years. The seller, Bonjour Capital, has owned the building since 2012 when it was constructed and bought the property for nearly $8.6 million. The building has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, where the average monthly rents are around $2,661, according to Eastern Consolidated, which was marketing the building at $22 million last year. The dramatic increase in price for the building reflects how real estate investors view the neighborhood. Some investors are even working on sizable projects in Ridgewood, such as Essex Capital’s 90-unit building on Madison Street. In another example, AB Capstone, which owns properties on Myrtle and St. Nicholas avenues in the heart of Ridgewood, is planning to construct a 17-story, mixed-use residential tower with 130 apartments, according to a source close to the project. Construction permits have yet to be filed with the Buildings Department for the sites at 54-27 Myrtle Ave. and 3-36 to 3-50 St. Nicholas Ave., but early plans indicate that the building will also have 200,000 square feet. AB Capstone purchased the sites and filed demolition permits last year, and recently posted early renderings of the tower on its website. The images show the residential building with its entrance facing St. Nicholas Avenue. Other details about the building could not be confirmed yet. The development site is located a block from the L and M Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues subway station, which will be a big benefit for future residents. Rendering courtesy of AB Capstone St. Nicholas Avenue building Photo courtesy of StreetEasy 71-13 60th Lane Glendale Hansel ’n Gretel site will become storage and retail building BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com/@liamlaguerre The final chapter of the more than 140-year fairy tale run for food processor Hansel ‘n Gretel has come to an end. Hansel ‘n Gretel Brand Inc. sold its Glendale manufacturing factory at 79-40 Cooper Ave. for $9.18 million after closing its business last year, according to Canadabased broker Avison Young. The company opened in Manhattan in 1872 and moved to Glendale in 1970 to expand operations. The entire two-acre property, which includes a 50,000-square-foot industrial building, two attached residential buildings, two parking lots and vacant land, was such a sweet deal, it was divided and purchased by two investors. Cayre & Sons Acquisitions purchased most of the site, and plans to transform it into a 80,000-square-foot self-storage and retail building, according to Avison Young. “Over the last few years, self-storage has been driven by robust demand, advanced management and new technology, and it continues to outperform other real estate sectors,” said Jason Meister, vice president of Avison Young. “Manhattan’s residential market continues to reach new heights, which in turn has driven demand for self-storage in the outer boroughs, and the buyer intends to capitalize on this trend.” Meister and an Avison Young team of principals Vincent Carrega, Jon Epstein, Neil Helman and Charles Kingsley represented Hansel ‘n Gretel. The Hansel ‘n Gretel site is located near to The Shops at Atlas Park, a mall with retail, dining and a cinema. It is also close to Atlas Terminals, a former collection of industrial buildings that was purchased by production company Broadway Stages for nearly $20 million last year. The company plans to transform the site into TV and film studios and create rental space for local mom and pop retail businesses, as The Courier first reported. THE COURIER/File photo


RT03262015
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