Developer Buys Chunk Of Upper East Side Block For $32 Million

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A real estate developer has purchased a large chunk of an Upper East Side block that contains four low-rise apartment buildings and a strip of restaurants, a broker announced Monday.

Developer EJS Group paid $32.3 million to buy 1303-1309 Third Ave., a lot on the corner of East 75th Street that includes the Candle Cafe, Jowny Market grocery store and the former home of Bistro Le Steak.

The company's plans for the site are not clear, but the broker that sold the property touted it as "ideally positioned for a developer seeking to build in the heart of one of Manhattan’s most desirable and established neighborhoods."

Reached for comment, EJS President Ted Segal said the firm has no "definitive plans" to redevelop the Third Avenue site. No demolition or construction permits have been filed on the block thus far.

EJS's other recent projects include 150 East 78th St., a luxury high-rise near Lexington Avenue.

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The property was formerly owned by Gastonia LLC, while the sale was brokered by JLL Capital Markets.

"1303-1309 Third Ave. is a unique development opportunity with extraordinary potential," Guthrie Garvin, a managing director at JLL, said in a news release. "Its location within one of Manhattan’s most sought-after neighborhoods offers developers the chance to create a stand-out residential property."