Right beneath the elevated N and W subway trestle at the Astoria Boulevard station, single-story commercial footprints sitting on nearly 30,000 square feet of high-density C4-5X dirt have become the most coveted covered-land plays in western Queens. Staples Tower LLC wired $26.85 million on September 18, 2026 to acquire the longtime commercial corner at 24-29 31st Street from 2441 Astoria Associates, LLC, pricing the existing 26,280-square-foot retail structure at $1,022 per building foot while capturing roughly 150,000 square feet of as-of-right C4-5X mixed-use zoning capacity. When the deed closed on September 18, 2026, Staples Tower LLC had officially taken down 24-29 31st Street from 2441 Astoria Associates, LLC for $26.85 million, with Queens Investment Sales brokering the trade.

At $1,022 a square foot across 26,280 square feet, the trade establishes a clean clearing mark for Astoria astoria boulevard retail & mixed-use development corner assets.

Ponce Bank Steps Up to 74.5 Percent Leverage for Covered Queens Dirt

The real tell in any Queens closing sits on the debt side of the ledger. To fund the purchase, Staples Tower LLC locked in a $20 million senior acquisition & pre-development loan from Ponce Bank, N.A. at 74.5 percent loan-to-value.

That loan commitment meant the buyers only needed to write a $6.85 million equity check to control a 1-story, 1961-vintage Astoria asset. Credit committees aren't stretching to 75 percent leverage anymore, but when a sponsor brings $6.85 million of real cash equity and a basis of $1,022 a square foot, lenders like Ponce Bank, N.A. are wide open for business.

From Our Desk

When we look at 24-29 31st Street on our placement desk at Light Tower Group, the lesson for New York sponsors comes down to the marriage of entry basis and capital structure. Staples Tower LLC didn't try to fight the tape—they bought Astoria footage at $1,022 a square foot and structured the stack to match the asset's timeline. Regional relationship lenders like Ponce Bank still lean aggressively into transit-adjacent Queens corners when an existing retail cash-flow stream covers carry while the sponsor drafts vertical plans.