The Beechwood Organization has added to its growing Westbury holdings with a new acquisition.
The Jericho-based development firm purchased the 10,064-square-foot restaurant building on 3 acres at 829 Merrick Ave. for $12.75 million. The property was last occupied by TGI Fridays, which closed in Oct. 2024 as part of the chain’s bankruptcy.
Beechwood’s newest acquisition is the third restaurant property it has purchased on Merrick Avenue in the last four years. In April 2021, the developer paid $4 million for the 7,308-square-foot building on 1.22 acres at 725 Merrick Ave. that was formerly home to Houlihan’s. The property is leased to John Tunney Restaurants which will soon open its Farm Italy Restaurant & Bar concept there.
In Dec. 2022, Beechwood bought the 12,107-square-foot building on 2.5 acres at 737 Merrick Ave. for $11 million. The property was last occupied by Buffalo Wild Wings and Beechwood is planning to build a high-end boutique hotel on the site.
Beechwood’s anchor development on Merrick Avenue is The Selby, a $125 million, 237-unit luxury apartment building at 695 Merrick Ave. that opened in Sept. 2022. The apartment complex was built on the 5.87-acre site of the former Syms clothing store, which Beechwood bought for $16 million in 2017, according to public records.
Beechwood principal Steven Dubb said the company will seek to lease the former Fridays property to another restaurant with “a type of quality” compatible with the Selby.
“We made a big investment on Merrick Avenue with the Selby and the new Farm Italy restaurant,” Dubb told LIBN. “We’re going to see if we can re-lease it as a restaurant. It’s a great piece of property.”
Even before the Selby and its Merrick Avenue developments, Beechwood had made its mark in Westbury. In Feb. 2018, the developer opened its $120 million, luxury apartment and extended-stay hotel project called the Vanderbilt. The development brought 178 high-end rental residences and 17 hotel suites to a 4.8-acre site next to Beechwood’s sprawling 720-home Meadowbrook Pointe condo complex that was built on 52 acres of the former Roosevelt Raceway property.
Primarily known as a prolific residential developer, building more than 10,000 homes in 80 communities, Beechwood has also had success in retail development. The company developed the fully occupied 118,450-square-foot Country Pointe Shops retail complex, built as part of its ongoing 750-home Country Pointe condo development in Plainview.
Jason Sobel and Brian Schuster of RIPCO Real Estate represented Beechwood Organization, while their RIPCO Real Estate colleagues Jeremy Isaacs and Jon Winzelberg represented the seller, Matgart Merrick Ave Associates LLC, in the latest Westbury sales transaction.