On the end of the 7 train in eastern Queens, Flushing is awash in construction sites. But like most outer borough neighborhoods, new development in Flushing comes in more flavors than just residential. As the de facto capital of Chinese and Korean New York City, the area is a central hub in its own right, and medicine appears to be the biggest business in town.
This is what led developer Chun-Hsiung Huang to exclude residential for the parcel at 136-33 37th Avenue, halfway between Main Street and Union Street, in the heart of Flushing. Instead, he opted to build a 117,000-square foot medical office building.
136-33 37th Avenue
Whitestone-based Urban Architectural Design, led by James Cheng, crafted an open, glassy façade for the building at 136-33 37th Avenue. The structure will also feature yellow accents in between floors, and a black finish on the bulkier back-facing portion of the tower.
The inclusion of medical space allowed the developer to use the community facility bonus to build to a floor area ratio of 4.8 – a sizable density boost from the 3.4 commercial FAR normally allowed in C4-3 zones, or the 2.43 residential FAR permitted.
136-33 37th Avenue
The 10-story building is another positive step in the densification of downtown Flushing, which was rezoned in 1998 to permit larger buildings, commensurate with the area’s newfound status as a premier ethnic enclave. 136-33 37th Avenue will include retail space on the first floor, and will add yet another mid-rise to an area that’s been gradually filling in with ever-taller structures over the past decade.
Despite all the construction, there are still a number of surface lots across the street from the building, offering additional development opportunities as Downtown Flushing continues to grow. 136-33 37th Avenue is expected to open in December of 2014.
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