Another big real estate deal has gone down on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach.
Cushman & Wakefield announced on Monday it brokered a $12.6 million, all-cash sale of 163-30 Cross Bay Blvd., a retail property currently home to a Key Food supermarket. According to the broker, the building was constructed in 2009 and includes a rear parking lot with 42 spaces. The store was damaged by Hurricane Sandy’s floodwaters in October 2012 and underwent a significant renovation.
This marks the second multimillion-dollar real estate deal involving a major Cross Bay Boulevard retail space in as many months. As QNS reported in January, the Pan-Bay Center — a 50,000-square-foot shopping strip and office building with a 100-space parking lot — was sold for $27 million to Urban Edge Properties, a record price for the area.
Though it was reported that the Pan-Bay Center may be renovated to attract new tenants, changing things at the Key Food location may be more difficult for the new owners. Key Food opened in 2014 at the site, which was previously a Duane Reade pharmacy. Under its parent company Walgreen’s, Duane Reade maintains a lease on the site through October 2028 and sublet the location to Key Food after it closed the pharmacy.
“Retail properties throughout the outer boroughs have experienced tremendous demand given local retail rent growth,” said Bob Knakal, chairman of New York Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield, who handled the sale with brokers Jonathan Hageman and Brian Sarath. “The leases here made the upside more challenging to derive, but nonetheless, we were very pleased with the reception this property received.”
