Baron pays $54M for LIC condo site

Simon Baron Development, SBD, has signed a contract to purchase a Long Island City site that will be turned into a 44-story, 400-unit residential rental apartment building.
A formal closing is expected in April, although sources say the purchase price is around $54 million.
SBD president Matthew Baron is acquiring the 400,000 s/f site near Queens Boulevard from Simon Dushinsky’s Rabsky Group, which had started to develop the site with several vacant buildings at 29-26 Northern Boulevard after purchasing the lot for $35 million last fall.
Baron said SBD will keep the architectural firm, SBJ GROUP, hired by Dushinsky to design the rental building.
The building is expected to include bike storage, parking, commercial space on the first floor, an exercise room, pool, lounge on the 43rd floor and a roof amenity.
“We are strong believers in Long Island City,ˮ said Baron. “This project will provide more rental units to the community which is becoming one of NYC’s great emerging neighborhoods.”
In addition this LIC project, SBD is developing a number of projects, including a 250-room hotel at 11-13 East 31st Street and the conversion of a 13-story, 65-unit Rosario Candela-designed building at 12 East 88th Street.