REAL ESTATE
The Forest Hills Jewish Center is officially poised to trade its longtime Queens Boulevard home for a hefty $39 million, setting up a major redevelopment on one of Forest Hills’ most visible blocks. The deal would send the congregation into a new space at the Perennial at Parkway complex while developers tied to RJ Capital and Top Rock prepare the synagogue’s current site for a large project. The contract links the closing of the Queens Boulevard parcel to delivery of the new condominium unit, giving both sides a firm timeline instead of an open-ended wait.
ATTORNEY GENERAL AUTHORIZATION CLEARS THE PATH
According to Commercial Observer, an April 6 document signed by Anthe Maria Bova of the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau signed off on the sale of the roughly 55,000 square foot property to an entity called 106QB Development. The filing updates a 2022 approval by swapping in a new buyer LLC while keeping the previously agreed upon $39 million purchase price intact.
WHO IS BUYING AND WHAT THEY WANT
Property records and trade reporting identify 106QB Development as an acquisition vehicle tied to RJ Capital principals Rudolf and Iosif Abramov and Top Rock principals Uri Mermelstein and Joseph Yushuvayev, according to PincusCo. The RJ Capital and Top Rock team first went into contract on the site in 2021 and 2022 and have long telegraphed plans to redevelop the block front property, as previously reported by The Real Deal.
WHERE THE CONGREGATION WILL MOVE
Under the amended agreement, the Forest Hills Jewish Center will receive a $10 million credit toward ownership of a condominium unit at 70 35 113th Street, the former Parkway Hospital site now being redeveloped as the Perennial at Parkway. The congregation will build out that new space before fully vacating Queens Boulevard, Commercial Observer reports. The sale of 106 06 Queens Boulevard is scheduled to close 12 months after the Perennial unit is delivered to FHJC, providing a built-in buffer while the move takes place.
MONEY, DEBT AND TIMING
To pay for the relocation and interior work, the congregation has lined up an $18 million non-revolving credit line from Valley National Bank, and earlier down payments from JU Forest Hills Development totaling about $3.9 million were released under the revised deal, according to reporting by PincusCo. After loan payoffs and closing costs, the net proceeds from the $39 million sale are expected to seed the Forest Hills Jewish Center’s endowment, PincusCo notes, turning a real estate transition into a long-term financial cushion.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR FOREST HILLS
The contract clears the way for one of Forest Hills’ prime redevelopment opportunities. RJ Capital’s project page flags a large mixed-use plan at 106 06 Queens Boulevard, underscoring the development ambitions for the full block front. Meanwhile, the Perennial at Parkway, a 144 unit affordable housing conversion of the former Parkway Hospital that includes a new 34,000 square foot home for the center, has been pitched as both community housing and FHJC’s future address, according to reporting by QNS.
LEGAL OVERSIGHT AND NEXT STEPS
New York law requires religious corporations to obtain either court or Attorney General approval before they sell, mortgage or lease real property, and the Charities Bureau lays out specific safeguards for those transactions. The office instructs petitioners to submit detailed appraisals, financial statements and other supporting documents to show that proceeds will be used to advance the congregation’s charitable mission, according to the New York State Attorney General Charities Bureau guidance.
By Elise Hadley,
Hoodline