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Read the press release here.

Luxury Condo Eyed For Old Hospital Building in Forest Hills, Developer Says

 The building has been vacant since 2008.
Parkway Hospital
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QUEENS — The decaying former Parkway Hospital building, which has become a graffiti-covered eyesore, may be replaced by luxury condos after plans to sell the building appear to have fallen apart, an investment company said.

Jasper Venture Group, a New York-based real estate investment firm, which holds the mortgage on the building, said in a statement that it's considering building a residential tower at the site of the former medical facility, as first reported by Brownstoner Queens.

The group said that it was hoping to sell the site in a foreclosure auction, but so far that effort has not been successful.

At the auction in January, 70-35 113th Street Holdings LLC won the site with a $22 million bid. But after paying the required 10 percent down payment, the company missed at least two deadlines to pay the rest of the money, according to Michael Cohen, a spokesman for Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz.

Joseph Risi, the court appointed referee, set the new closing date for May 29, Cohen said, but representatives of Jasper Venture Group said that they came up with a new plan for the building, in case "the buyer defaults."

The group hinted in a statement that the existing building may be demolished.

"Though the hospital is over 100,000 square feet, Jasper wants to increase its size," the group said in the statement. "Rebuilding condominiums from the ground up will breathe new life into the idle site."

As of Tuesday morning, the group had not filed documents related to the new project with the Department of Buildings, according to the agency's website.

The plan may also require the group to apply for a zoning variance. According to City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz's office, the area is zoned for single family housing, from which hospitals and schools are exempt.

Additional details about the plan were not immediately known. But the group said in the statement that the project would offer "a relief to those seeking a more spacious option to the compact living New York City provides."

"Typical of Jasper Venture Group the former Parkway Hospital will be luxurious, offering its residents a view of the lakes and their own slice of serenity," the group said in the statement.

The former hospital overlooks Willow and Meadow lakes in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Parkway Hospital, along with St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals, was one of several Queens healthcare facilities that were forced to close in recent years.

Representatives from 70-35 113th Street Holdings LLC could not be reached for comment.