Greystone Development Acquires Prime Long Island City Development Site in Joint Venture with Plans to Develop Luxury Rental Residences

NEW YORK, March 14, 2016 -- Greystone Development, a New York-based real estate development, lending and advisory company, announced it has closed on the $23 million acquisition of a development site at 24-16 Queens Plaza South in Long Island City, Queens.

Construction financing in the amount of $39 million was provided by Santander Bank, a strategic partner of Greystone’s, and a joint venture partnership has been successfully formed with the existing long-term land owner. Samuel Jesselson and Jason Warsavsky of JWCM introduced the deal to Greystone Development.

"Our team is always looking for opportunities to finance important development projects like this one by Greystone that will further enhance the residential landscape in this vibrant neighborhood,” said Mike Lee, Managing Director of Commercial Real Estate Banking at Santander Bank. “With its close proximity to Manhattan and amenities like restaurants, shops, and art galleries, Long Island City is becoming an attractive option for those who want the convenience of city living, but desire more living space.”

Greystone Development plans to build a striking twenty-three story property that will enhance the Long Island City skyline. With this in mind, globally renowned architects Woods Bagot were selected to craft and design the property.

“Long Island City is a burgeoning market. People want to call this area home because of its proximity to culture and commerce as well as to transportation. This residential property is being developed for those who value both form and function. Woods Bagot is pushing the envelope to create spaces that celebrate architectural details inside and outside of the home,” said Jeffrey Simpson, head of Greystone Development.  “Located across the street from the Queensboro Plaza train station with access to the 7, N and Q subway lines and within close proximately to the E, M and R lines, the site is the ideal location for a new luxury rental building with prime retail space.”

“We are thrilled to have worked in close collaboration with the Greystone team to design an architecturally significant property that is responsive to its rich urban context, and leverages the unique aspects of the site to create a new lifestyle destination in Long Island City,” said Jeremy Singer, Principal, Woods Bagot.

Plans include 117 creatively appointed rentals encompassing approximately 105,000 gross square feet with approximately 3,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The property boasts approximately 119 feet of frontage along Crescent Street and approximately 100 feet along Queens Plaza South.

The property will provide services catering to the resident to make the living experience extremely comfortable. Encompassing approximately 11,000 square feet across four floors, amenities will include outdoor pool; roof terrace; fitness center; multiple private dining and entertaining spaces including a lounge and screening area; game room; and co-working space.

David J. Maundrell III, EVP of New Development Marketing for Brooklyn and Queens at Citi Habitats, has been selected as the exclusive leasing agent for the property. David has brought over 200 new development properties to market in the past 10 years in NYC and oversees more than 2,000 transactions a year in Brooklyn and Queens combined. David also has a long-standing relationship with Greystone Development, having successfully leased out Printhouse Lofts in Williamsburg in 2014, and selling out Waterbridge 47 in DUMBO in 2015 with record-breaking sales figures.

About Greystone Development
Greystone Development is a real estate lending, investment and advisory company headquartered in New York. Its development group creates boutique luxury rental and condominium residences and prime quality commercial spaces in gateway cities including New York City, Miami and Silicon Valley. For more information, visit www.greystonepd.com.

About Citi Habitats
As one of New York City’s leading real estate brokerages, Citi Habitats operates seven offices in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The firm offers a variety of real estate services including existing apartment rentals, townhome, condo, co-op, and investment sales, new development marketing and relocation services. Citi Habitats is owned and operated by NRT LLC, a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp., a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services.

About Santander Bank
Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country’s top retail banks by deposits and a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A. - one of the most respected banking groups in the world. With its corporate offices in Boston, Santander Bank’s more than 670 branches and nearly 2,100 ATMs are principally located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Bank’s 9,400 employees are committed to helping our more than 2.1 million customers make progress toward their financial goals with the support of our call centers, interactive online banking platform and easy-to-use mobile app. Madrid-based Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) serves more than 117 million customers in the U.K., Europe, Latin America and the U.S. Through its local affiliates, including Santander Bank, Banco Santander is the largest corporate contributor to higher education in the world, investing over $165 million annually in colleges and universities across more than 20 countries, including the U.S. For more information on Santander Bank, please visit www.santanderbank.com.

About JWCM
JWCM, LLC is a privately held real estate firm headquartered in New York. Entrepreneurial in nature, nimble in size and robust in depth of experience, JWCM is engaged in a broad range of real estate related activities, including commercial real estate investing, consulting and transaction sourcing.

About Woods Bagot
Woods Bagot is a global architecture firm with a diverse portfolio of design excellence. Ranked as one of the world’s largest architecture practices, the firm has a reputation for powerful, award-winning designs of residential lifestyle, workplace and education projects. The New York Studio is deeply committed to the cause of design excellence and smart urbanism in the city. 

PRESS CONTACT:
Karen Marotta
Greystone 
212-896-9149
[email protected]