(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare Distressed Assets takes place Oct. 4-5 in Grapevine, TX. RealShare New York takes place Oct. 12 at the Marriott Marquis.)

NEW YORK CITY-The factory once known for its sweet Italian cookies, breakfast treats and breadsticks will soon be redeveloped into a mixed-use retail center. Massey Knakal Realty Services sold the Stella D’Oro bakery site at 184-190 West 237th St. in the Riverdale section of the Bronx to Jericho, NY-based Metropolitan Realty Associates and its long-time equity partner Angelo, Gordon & Co. LP for $18,750,000 in an all-cash transaction. The joint venture plans to redevelop the facility into Riverdale Crossing, a new shopping destination for residents of the North Bronx and Upper Manhattan.

The transaction comes after Stella D’Oro closed its doors in 2009 and the company relocated its manufacturing operations to Ohio, resulting in a loss of 150 local union jobs. “We are keenly aware of the history of the Stella D’Oro factory, and that it’s been a part of the fabric and heritage of New York City for a very long time,” says Joseph A. Farkas, president of Metropolitan Realty Associates, in a statement following the deal. A two-story commercial bakery building and a one-story garage complex currently occupy the property, bound by Broadway to the west and the Major Deegan Expressway to the east. “Although we cannot save the former building, we are doing the next best thing.”