There’s a common belief these days that there’s nowhere left to build in the city.
But Rockrose Development’s $100 million purchase of a Brooklyn city block, which closed Friday, shows that’s not entirely true — it just might not be easy.
The sale follows Rockrose dropping $65 million on a neighboring parcel in Cobble Hill that had been the site of many plans and zero apartments. Both sites were once the home of Long Island College Hospital, which Rockrose has now pieced back together.
An entity tied to LICH and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University sold Rockrose the most recent site, which covers 363 Hicks Street, 365 Hicks Street, 97 Amity Street and 340 Henry Street. Newmark’s Dan O’Brien and Jimmy Kuhn brokered the sale.
Madison Realty Capital owned the other site at 91-95 Pacific Street. The lender had bought it from Fortis Property Group after the developer’s plans for the parcels failed to materialize and it faced foreclosure on its $48 million loan.
Fortis seemed to have bought first and planned second.
Its initial rezoning vision was shot down by then-City Council member Brad Lander, who was looking for more affordable housing and community benefits than Fortis seemed equipped to provide. Meanwhile, the developer became locked up in a lawsuit with SUNY over what the college claims was Fortis’ failure to close on a second part of the deal that would have served as a medical campus for New York University.
On the other end of the spectrum, Rockrose may not need to pursue a rezoning and has now pieced together a prime stretch of real estate for a multi-family development. It also successfully navigated the New York State Attorney General’s office, which had to approve the purchase, given the non-profit involved in the sale.
While the deals don’t quite amount to adaptive reuse, they show that there’s still plenty of prime real estate for developers who know what to do with it.
Now if only there was a new plan for that leaning tower in FiDi…
What we’re thinking about: Home sales in January were disappointing and one economist blamed it on the weather. New York has been a tundra as of late, but if somebody’s going to buy a house, is an extra layer really going to stop them? Let me know if I’m wrong by emailing me at jacob.indursky@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: In the mood for love? Head to the most loveless place on earth, Times Square, where you can watch two engagements and two actual wedding ceremonies on Valentine’s Day. Nothing says romance like a life-size Elmo pointing at his watch because a new couple needs to get married.
Elsewhere…
— The online prediction market Polymarket launched its free grocery store on Thursday, Curbed reported. The store is only open through Sunday and stocked with Kirkland-brand olive oil and milk that seemed to have been purchased by a nearby Aldi. One shopper told the outlet they spent 11 hours in line for $120 worth of free groceries.
— A Long Island town issued a three-month ban on new pickleball courts, Newsday reported. Glen Cove’s City Council voted unanimously to prevent residents from putting new courts on their property, mostly to quell complaints about noise. But the courts aren’t gone forever. The local law was put in place so that the city can undertake a “thorough examination of the impacts playing pickleball may pose to city residents.”
Closing time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Friday was $57 million for 70 Vestry Street, PHS. The Tribeca condo unit is 7,800 square feet. The Modlin Group’s Adam Modlin has the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $15.3 million for 158 Lafayette Street. The seven-unit, mixed-use building in Soho is 19,500 square feet.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $28.9 million for 217 West 57th Street, Unit 86E. The Midtown Central condo unit is new construction and 4,300 square feet. The Corcoran Group’s Kane Manera and Janet Wang have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permits filed were for a proposed 40,239-square-foot, three-story building with 59 dwelling units at 480 Rosedale Avenue in Soundview Park. Lawrence Pinner of Pinner Architect is the applicant of record.— Joseph Jungermann
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