Newark-based KS Group has helped resurrect Astoria Cove from the scrapheap of development history.
KS closed on $300 million in construction financing for the long-stalled project in the Hallets Point section of the Queens neighborhood, according to the Commercial Observer. S3 Capital provided the debt in a deal arranged by Galaxy Capital’s Henry Bodek; KS Group provided $62 million in equity as part of the financing.
The Promote newsletter first reported the financing.
The project dates back to 2014, when Alma Realty proposed more than 1,700 units at the site. Financing issues and fights over the affordable housing count derailed the development. KS joined the Astoria Cove project in September.
KS plans to deliver more than 2,800 units across the three phases of the project, well above what Alma promised more than a decade ago; Alma Realty’s Steve Valiotis and Cad3’s Meyer Lebowitz — who was instrumental in bringing in KS — remain involved in the project, according to KS managing partner Daniel Spiegel.
The first phase of the revived development — greenlit by this new construction financing — involves four buildings with 736 apartments and 318 parking spaces. The 26-story residential tower and three mixed-use buildings will sprout at 25-02 Ninth Street and 4-34 26th Avenue.
A 141-unit building has already been completed.
KS is working towards a $95 million land deal for the development in the next year, as well as a $450 million construction loan for the second phase of the project that will build 1,000 additional units.
The third phase, for which the developer is hunting for another $450 million construction loan, will feature another 1,100 units.
The whole project will also have between 30,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial space and a piazza on the East River.
Residential amenities will include a rooftop pool, fitness center, golf simulator, children’s playroom, indoor and outdoor cinemas and a business center. At least 30 percent of the residential units will be affordable since the project was financed under 421a.
Spiegel estimates the overall price tag to exceed $2 billion.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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