47-16 Austell Place

Four-Story, 60,000-Square-Foot Factory Converted Into Retail-Office Property at 47-16 Austell Place, Long island City

The four-story, 60,000-square-foot industrial building at 47-16 Austell Place, in southern Long Island City, has recently been converted for a variety of commercial uses, according to Commercial Observer. It hosts 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, of which a food café has already leased a portion. The floors above, with floor plates of 16,000 square feet, are geared towards office tenants and community facility uses. Joffrey Ballet Center, a dance school, has leased the fourth floor. Upgrades made to the building include renovations to the interior, a new roof, a revitalized façade with new windows, and a redesigned lobby. A rooftop lounge with landscaping is also being built and is expected to be complete in early 2017. The Vanbarton Group, which purchased the property for $7.7 million in 2015, is the developer. Montroy Andersen DeMarco is the architect.

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89-19 Liberty Avenue, image via Google Maps

Permits Filed: 89-19 Liberty Avenue, Ozone Park

Ozone Park, a sprawling neighborhood in southern Queens, remains a working-class immigrant stronghold. Longtime Italian homeowners mingle with a fast-growing South Asian and Latino community, and many of the neighborhood’s new arrivals come from India, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Ecuador.

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1 Wall Street

Whole Foods Market Leases 44,000 Square Feet at 1 Wall Street Conversion, Financial District

A Whole Foods Market will take up 44,000-square feet across the ground and second floors of 1 Wall Street, in the Financial District, Commercial Observer reported. The 50-story, 654-foot-tall office building – part of which is an individual landmark – is currently being converted into 155,000 square feet of commercial-retail space and 524 residential units. YIMBY reported on the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s approval of the planned alterations back in January and April. A rendering of the new store reveals that the Whole Foods will be located in the annex portion of 1 Wall Street. The annex portion is also being expanded at the top. Macklowe Properties is the developer. Robert A.M. Stern Architects and SLCE Architects are behind the architecture. The retailer is expected to open its doors in late 2018.

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