By Sarina Trangle
The former Parkway Hospital property is heading back to the auction block.
The mortgage on the 56,400-square-foot lot in Forest Hills is scheduled to be offered up to bidders at a July 11 foreclosure auction in Queens Supreme Civil Court, according to the real estate website propertyshark.com.
The company that entered the winning $22.2 million bid during a January auction struggled to come up with the financing for months. As a result, the closing date for the 70-35 113th St. lot was rescheduled several times.
The group behind the bid, 70-35 113th St. Limited Liability Co., could not be reached for comment. Its officers have not been identified.
The company that holds the mortgage on the shuttered hospital, Auberge Grand Central LLC, had discussed transforming it into condominiums via a partnership with the Manhattan-based real estate firm Jasper Venture Group LLC.
It was unclear whether the partnership intends to bid at the upcoming auction.
Jasper Venture Group referred requests for comment to Auberge Grand Central, which did not respond to inquiries before deadline.
The court-appointed foreclosure referee Joseph Risi previously said Auberge Grand Central would need to go back to court and get a stay before formally pursuing development plans.
Risi did not respond to requests for comment.
Parkway has sat vacant, except for a few telecommunications companies renting space on the roof, since the state Commission on Healthcare Facilities shut the hospital in 2008.
Dr. Robert Aquino, the hospital’s owner and chief executive officer, fought off creditors for years. He eventually pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges stemming from his attempts to bribe state Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio in exchange for the Ozone Park lawmaker lobbying on behalf of Parkway.
Seminerio died while serving a six-year prison sentence in the Parkway bribery case.
Neighbors have complained that maintenance has been neglected at Parkway and it has attracted graffiti.
City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) would like to see senior housing developed on the property, but her office had said she has not heard from either 70-35 113th St. LLC or Auberge Grand Central LLC about their plans.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
