It’s been a busy week for new development in western Flushing. Yesterday, YIMBY spotted plans for a hotel-residential-retail project in the part of the neighborhood that’s about to be rezoned, and today a different local builder filed plans for an eight-story, mixed-use building at 131-09 Fowler Avenue, close to Flushing Meadows Park and the Van Wyck Expressway.
The city is about to rezone 11 industrial blocks along the heavily polluted Flushing Creek in western Flushing. But one developer has already filed new building applications for an eight-story, mixed-use project at 134-16 36th Road, on the corner of Prince Street and in the middle of the soon-to-be-upzoned piece of eastern Queens.
Property owner Wai Li has filed applications for a four-story, 7,810-square-foot commercial building at 131-34 41st Avenue, in Downtown Flushing, located six blocks from the Main Street stop on the 7 train. The new building will boast 7,360 square feet of commercial space and will have warehouse space on the ground floor, office space on the second and third floors, and a “caretaker apartment” on the fourth floor. Flushing-based John C. Chen Architect PLLC. is the architect of record. The project would rise on a 45-foot-wide lot which is currently occupied by a two-story auto shop business. Demolition permits have not been filed yet to knock it down.
In 2013, Jerry Karlik’s JK Equities acquired the RKO Keith’s Theatre, an individual landmark at 135-27 – 135-35 Northern Boulevard in Downtown Flushing, for $30 million. The developer received approval to redevelop the severely dilapidated structure in 2015, but now Karlik is putting the development site back on the market, Crain’s reports. A new developer could build a 16-story, 269-unit mixed-use building with 24,493 and 15,727 square feet of commercial and community facility space, respectively. A buyer could also take advantage of a previously granted tax break. Studio V Architecture was behind JK Equities’ proposal, although a new owner could always choose to design a different building and go back to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for approval. Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the site.
Last summer, YIMBY reported on plans to build an 11-story, mixed-use project at 141-26 Northern Boulevard in Flushing, not too far from the neighborhood’s bustling downtown. Now, we have the first look at what will rise on the site between Bowne Street and Parsons Boulevard.
