Great Atlantic’s Jamaica, Queens Project Obtains Refinancing

A $13.4 million loan will go towards the development of two sites totaling 237,000 buildable square feet on 162nd Street.

89-25 and 89-26 162nd St. (highlighted), Jamaica, Queens/ Image provided by Cushman & Wakefield

NEW YORK CITY—General Atlantic Construction in a partnership with multiple investors will be demolishing the property at 89-26 162nd St., where currently a convent stands. They will build on that site in addition to 89-25 162nd St., which now is a parking lot. The property owners will construct a multifamily development with approximately 237,000 buildable square feet.

Lightstone Capital Markets provided a $13.4 million bridge loan for the development. The Cushman & Wakefield equity, debt & structured finance team of Preston Flammang, Jessica Ke and Anthony D’Amelio, with Stephen Preuss in the firm’s New York middle markets investment sales team represented Great Atlantic.

89-25 and 89-26 162nd St. are located in Jamaica, Queens, the neighborhood where rapper Nicki Minaj grew up and which honored her with a Key to the City. In a January 2018 article, Curbed pointed to developer Jianfei Chen’s 51-unit multifamily project just down the street at 88-56 162nd St. In an article about 15 recent projects in the neighborhood, the publication stated, “[I]t might finally be safe to say that Jamaica, Queens is having its moment.”

Cushman & Wakefield did not provide additional details regarding the cost or plans of Great Atlantic’s project noting it’s still in the early planning stages. However, in highlighting the project’s strength, the brokerage notes that the site is close to the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road Station, the AirTrain to JFK International Airport, the Jamaica Center subway station and Parsons Boulevard.