Starwood, Onyx Buy Industrial Portfolio Near JFK Airport

A partnership between Starwood and NJ-based Onyx Equities has acquired a light industrial portfolio including 10 properties near John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The portfolio, located along Doughty Boulevard and Inip Drive and encompassing 18 acres and 500K SF, was sold by the Ben Elias Industries, a 77-year-old apparel company that started liquidating assets last year, Crain’s reported.

CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. The reported purchase price translates to about $291 per square foot.

The market surrounding JFK airport has had strong demand for logistics properties. In August, Realterm of Maryland secured a $95M building loan and a $23M project loan from JPMorgan for a site on Brookville Boulevard in the Jamaica section of Queens it is developing into what reports called a “transportation-advantaged” logistics facility.

In April, Triangle Equities recapitalized its warehouse project near JFK Airport. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management arm joined Triangle in ownership of the Terminal Logistics Center in Jamaica, the companies announced.

The partnership recapitalized the project for $136M, with the financing split between $61M in equity from the partners and $75M in debt supplied by H.I.G. Realty Credit Partners.

The area surrounding JFK Airport also has attracted interest as the site of one of the first projects supported by a state program to convert hotels into affordable housing.

In May, developers Slate Property Group and RiseBoro Community Partnership said they plan to convert a Hilton hotel in Queens near the airport into more than 300 units of housing.

The owner of the Hilton, Sam Chang, is selling the property to the joint venture of Slate and Riseboro for an unspecified amount, the New York Times reported.

About 60% of the units in the converted hotel will be earmarked for the homeless, which exceeds the threshold required to receive state funding for the project. The balance of the units will be reserved for low-income households, with rents set at $1,200 for one-bedroom units and $1,500 for two-bedroom units.

The state is providing $48M of the $150M project through a state program called Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity. NYC’s Housing Development Corp. and Department of Housing Preservation and Development also are providing subsidies.

The developers estimate the converted hotel rooms, as well as renovations to heating systems and other parts of the Hilton, will be ready to be occupied within two years.