Cropsey Avenue Eyesore Purchased By Chinese Investors For $18.5 Million

Brownstoner recently received a tip that a group of Chinese investors bought the hulking 45,688-square-foot property at 2300 Cropsey Avenue at 23rd Avenue for $18,500,000. The site has long been derelict, overgrown with weeds and littered with debris, and the sale price is a whopping $6 million more than predicted when it hit the market last year.

The location currently has a six-story building that is zoned as a nursing home but the interior has been completely demolished. It was once the facilities for the Haym Salomon Home for Nursing and Rehabilitation, which moved next door several years ago when they completed a new building.

The property also has an interesting history, as we noted when we reported that the building was for sale last year:

Alexander Gurevich, the [most recent] owner of the 45,688-square-foot space planned to build a multi-functioning unit with underground parking, housing and office space, according to The Real Deal. However, he defaulted on the remaining $17 million loan balance and the property went into bank holding.

Gurevich’s ownership of the property is further complicated by his legal issues. In 2010, Gurevich was banned from selling condos or co-op units in New York for 3 years because he was accused of deceiving buyers in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay condo sale.

Back in 2010, the site had 38 active violations issued by Department of Buildings. According to the Beehive Hairdresser, this gained the site the not so impressive record of holding the most violations from the DOB in Brooklyn. It’s also been a source of community discontent for quite some time: Bensonhurst Bean regularly receives e-mails describing the site as blighted and a drag on the area’s quality of life.