12 Franklin Street Development on Hold, Listed for $50 Million

The former impending office and manufacturing development known as 12 Franklin St. is now on hold as the developer who purchased the lot three years ago for $24 million has relisted the property for more than double their investment, the Commercial Observer reports.

A plan was announced last summer by Simon Baron Development to raze the entire block of Franklin Street between Meserole Avenue and N. 15 Street for a seven-story office and manufacturing building that was expected to open in 2021.

Both the bar Northern Territory and the local brewery Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co. vacated their buildings on the lot after the sale.

Plans have since shifted for Simon Baron Development, who are now seeking an estimated $50 million for the same property acquired for $24 million in 2016, according to the Commercial Observer:

JLL broker Brendan Maddigan, who is marketing the property, said that while it doesn’t have a specific asking price, Simon Baron expects the site to trade for an amount in the low $50 million:

Simon Baron acquired the 27,963-square-foot lot for $24 million in 2016. The firm tapped FXCollaborative to design a 168,000-square-foot office, manufacturing and retail building and secured a rezoning for it earlier this year. But instead of building the commercial project, Jonathan Simon and Matthew Baron have decided to flip the property for more than twice what they paid.

Maeve Ives, a vice president at Simon Baron, said in an email that the developer was selling the parcel because it is located “in an expanding office market where we feel the timing is right to bring to market.”

The asking price works out to roughly $300 per buildable square foot.

 

The proposed 12 Franklin St. development combines 134,000 square feet of office and commercial space with 23,000 square feet of industrial or manufacturing space.

Nearby, a similar mixed-use office development from Rubenstein Partners would combine all of the lots on the block between Wythe and Meserole avenues and Gem and Banker streets for a new 80,000 square-foot Acme manufacturing facility and office building at 30 Gem St.