NEW YORK CITY-The former St. John’s Hospital building on Queens Boulevard in the Elmhurst section of Queens has been sold for $48 million in a deal arranged by brokerage firm Massey Knakal.

The deal includes the hospital building at 90-02 Queens Blvd. and a parking garage at 87-28 58th Ave. At press time attempts to ascertain the identity of the buyer and seller were unsuccessful.

The seven story hospital building, which totals 266,322 square feet, is located across the street from the Queens Place Mall and Queens Center. Massey Knakal officials state the building has been gutted to the steel and concrete and all the windows in the building have been replaced. There are plans to convert the building to a mixed-use property with retail on the ground floor and lower level, medical facilities on the second floor, and residential space on the remaining floors.

“For the first time, Queens is beginning to see a trickle-down effect of rising rents from primary neighborhoods, like Long Island City,” states Massey Knakal’s Stephen Palmese, who handled the transaction with Thomas Donovan. “This is similar to Williamsburg’s effect on Bushwick. As a result, secondary markets, like Elmhurst, which also have great transportation, are experiencing strong increases in residential rents.”