Normally, when YIMBY hears about development in eastern Queens, it’s happening in Flushing or Jamaica. But over the weekend, we stumbled across permits for a new apartment building in Briarwood, a middle-class neighborhood wedged between Jamaica and Kew Gardens.
New building applications call for a seven-story development at 84-03 Lander Street, between Hoover Avenue and 84th Road. Twenty apartments would be divided across 25,828 square feet of residential space, yielding relatively spacious average units of 1,300 square feet. The large apartments mean condos are probably in the works.
In terms of amenities, the building will come equipped with 11 parking spots (as required by zoning), bike storage in the cellar, and a shared roof deck.
This development will replace a long-stalled construction project that began in 2005. The shell of a seven-story building, complete with windows and the beginnings of balconies, has stood on the lot for years. The recession appears to have halted work in 2009, and the half-finished structure has remained ever since, racking up construction violations and annoying neighbors.
These apartments will probably sell well, because Briarwood, much like nearby Forest Hills and Rego Park, has a decent selection of pre-war co-ops and small homes that appeal to families. But Briarwood is more affordable than either of those neighborhoods, and we hope this development will add to the area’s stock of reasonably priced residences. Buyers can find pre-war two-bedrooms for as little as $195,000, or an updated three-bedroom, two-bath condo with a balcony for $628,888.
The developer is Francis Leung, and the architect is Flushing-based L&C Associates.
The developer who built the shell paid $1,600,000 for the site back in 2006. After he defaulted on a $5.2 million mortgage, the 8,400-square-foot lot was sold in a tax lien sale. Leung, who’s headquartered on Mulberry Street in Chinatown, scooped up the property in April for the bargain basement price of $121,659.
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