Office-to-residential conversions may be getting most of the attention, but an industrial-to-residential conversion could be on its way to the South Bronx.
Little John’s Moving has put its longtime location at 120 Bruckner Blvd. in Mott Haven on the market. The 6-story storage facility is being billed as an ideal site for a residential conversion, according to sources familiar with the deal. The firm hopes to fetch about $36 million for the building.
The property, located by Brook Avenue and East 132nd Street, spans almost 121,000 square feet, and a buyer could build a project of up to roughly 137,000 square feet under current zoning rules, according to marketing materials for the site. A residential building would likely be able to contain 80 to 100 units, although a buyer could also opt to keep the space industrial.
The property dates back to 1930. Little John’s has owned it since 1993, according to city records, paying $1.1 million for the site.
A person who answered the phone at the company Tuesday morning said it would be at least a year before the firm sold the Mott Haven property. Little John’s has an Upper East Side location as well.
The firm bills itself as both Big John’s Moving and Little John’s Storage on its website. Founder John Healey started the company in 1977 while working at a Manhattan fruit market and fielding requests from customers who saw he had a truck and could help them move, the website says.
CBRE’s Daniel Kaplan, John Reinertsen, Justin Arzi and Kaitlin Reinertsen are marketing the building. Kaplan declined to comment on the listing.
Mott Haven has been going through a major residential boom in recent years, highlighted by the massive Bankside project near the Third Avenue Bridge from real estate giant Brookfield. RXR also has a 200-unit building nearby called Maven.
Developer Peter Fine just recently sold a development site for $28.5 million at 350 Grand Concourse in Mott Haven, where buyer Shorewood Real Estate appears to be planning a mixed-use project with a supermarket. A mixed-use affordable housing complex also recently traded hands in the South Bronx neighborhood for roughly $45.8 million.
