Atlas buys FreshDirect’s LIC site for $48M
The 277K sf warehouse is zoned for manufacturing
February 22, 2016 01:08PM
23-30 Borden Avenue in Long Island City (credit: Cushman Wakefield)
Online grocer FreshDirect sold its longtime Long Island City facility for $48 million to developer Atlas Capital Group — a high price for a property that currently can’t be converted into residences.
The price is the second highest paid for an industrial property — located in a manufacturing zone where homes can’t be built — in Queens, according to Real Capital Analytics.
FreshDirect put the 276,705-square-foot warehouse at 23-30 Borden Avenue, which consists of manufacturing and storage space, on the market last February as it embarks on a move to the South Bronx. The site also includes additional 129,847 square feet of unused development rights, which may indicate a different project if zoning were to change.
FreshDirect plans on leasing the Long Island City site until construction in the South Bronx is complete, Bloomberg reported.
Atlas already owns property in the neighborhood. The developer, along with its partners Square Mile Capital Management and Invesco Real Estate, bought the factory at 30-30 47th Avenue in 2014 and extensively renovated it. Last month, Polo Ralph Lauren leased 19,000 square feet at the converted former warehouse.
Long Island City has attracted creative and TAMI tenants, which has drawn investors such as hedge funder Daniel Loeb, who bought a stake in a 150,000-square-foot former warehouse in 2014. Vornado Realty Trust and RXR Realty have also made moves for office properties in the area.
Cushman Wakefield’s Bob Knakal and David Chkheidze represented the seller.
FreshDirect also leased 20,000 square feet in East Williamsburg in October. [Bloomberg] — Dusica Sue Malesevic
