Downtown Flushing Development

[sunnyguy]

Anyone know who is the developer of this new condo on Prince street?

[sunnyguy]

From the Times Ledger:

Downtown Flushing’s skyline will gain two new towers if a pair of developers move forward with the plans they presented before Community Board 7 Monday night.

Their plans are to start building two 12-story buildings in the downtown corridor within the next year if they get final approval from the city Board of Standards and Appeals, which will now make a final ruling on the projects.

Leavitt Street LLC plans to put up the first building on a vacant lot at 39-16 College Point Blvd. that used to be a gas station. Jia Ye Realty LLC plans to replace a two-story building at 36-27 Prince St. with its tower.

The buildings did not undergo a full vetting by CB 7 or the BSA since the hotels are to be built as-of-right, with only one sticking point that needed to be reviewed. As eight-story buildings, they would have been able to go up without any community review, but in order to build 12 stories, their developers were required to get a Federal Aviation Administration waiver because of their close proximity to LaGuardia Airport.

The city Department of Buildings approved the projects, with the stipulation that the waivers must be approved, and on Monday CB 7 voted on whether or not to approve the height restriction, a formality of sorts given the FAA’s approval of it.

Board members were not allowed to base their votes on any other considerations, such as the impact on traffic, schools, the economic viability or appearance of the hotels. The members voted to support the FAA’s decision to grant the waiver by unanimous vote, clearing one of the final hurdles for the buildings to move forward. A couple of board members grumbled about voting to approve the waiver before casting their votes, saying the projects would have a negative impact on the downtown area.

[Sid]

Are there any kind of plans to build something like a pedestrian bridge to connect downtown Flushing with Willets Point?

[ralphrepo]

New mall to replace blight spot

BY Leigh Remizowski
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Thursday, April 29th 2010, 10:50 AM

THE SITE OF a shuttered department store in downtown Flushing is undergoing a makeover after more than 10 years of vacancy.

The former site of Caldor, a now-defunct chain of clothing stores, is being transformed into a three-story shopping center with a restaurant, supermarket and other shops, according to a manager for the project, which is currently under construction. Developers are shooting for a September grand opening for the center at 136-20 Roosevelt Ave. - to be dubbed the New World Mall. The list of retailers, located mostly on the first and second floors, has yet to be finalized, said the project manager, who asked not to be named. "There are prospective franchises, but those are still in negotiations," he said, adding that the third floor will be a buffet-style restaurant with karaoke. Some locals have reservations about the type of merchants that will inhabit the new mall. "We don't want a flea market," said Community Board 7 Chairman Gene Kelty. "That doesn't complement the area." He said Flushing residents would welcome a shopping center like Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst. "If you want a mall, put a mall in there with decent stores," Kelty said. Developers do not need to present their plans to the community board because it conforms to the existing zoning. Kelty said the last he heard of any development at the vacant site was about eight years ago, but plans never came to fruition. Contractors filed for permits to renovate the three-story building last August with the city Department of Buildings, said an agency spokeswoman. Developers, which include high-end hotel bigwig McSam Hotels LLC, did not return calls for comment. The project is one of several new developments slated for the area, which locals say is already overcrowded and inundated with traffic. The area is the third-busiest pedestrian hub in the city after Manhattan's Broadway and 44th St., and Eighth Ave. between 33rd and 34th Sts., according to the city Transportation Department. "My concern is how it's going to affect traffic circulation," Kelty said. "Where are people going to pick their groceries up?" The new mall is already equipped with a 350-spot underground parking garage, which will offer valet parking, the project manager said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/04/29/2010-04-29_new_mall_to_replace_blight_spot.html?r=ny_local &utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaig n=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fny_local+%28NY+Local%29#ixzz0m zu624IE

The above was posted in this thread almost exactly one year ago, and I'm sad to report that just about all the feared "negatives" that critics had, have been realized in full.

The entire mall is devoted to the same Chinese no-name brands that can be found in any one of those hole in the wall Asian mini-malls along Main Street, and there is not one single main stream American branded store or franchise. On the ground floor there is a carbon copy of Hong Kong Supermarket (very similar to the one on Main Street) except that it's newer and a lot nicer. The second floor is 90% Chinese branded clothing for women, children, and cosmetics, or hair salons. In fact, most of the stalls here have been rented by those formerly of the mini-malls that are obviously moving into better digs. My wife, who prowls those places, even recognized some of the new shopkeeps as previous tenants of either "this or that" mini-mall. The third floor is a huge Chinese eatery very similar in style and slightly more expensive to the Jade Asian Restaurant (formerly called Gum Fung, one block away on 39th Avenue). The basement food court (to open of 15 MAY), from the names that I saw, is filled with Asian style cuisine that is the same fare found in places like the Golden Shopping Mall on Main Street, and the (soon to be demolished) Flushing Mall on 39th Avenue. The parking lot is the unchanged from the lot inherited from the previous tenant a decade ago; it remains dark, narrow, dingy, confusingly marked, and without any sign of security. Driving in and out of there is a real hassle as you have to enter or exit from the very busy intersection on Main Street right next to the Long Island Rail Road overpass. Oh, and park there at your own risk (to both vehicle and owner as this place looks like a mugger's paradise). In a word, is this anything like the Queens Center Mall? NOT!



JMart Supermarket, Ground Floor, New World Mall, Flushing, New York. Taken 30 APR 2011. Photograph is a composite of five separate images stitched together to produce a panoramic. View is from under 2nd floor escalator looking east.



Mall Shops, Second Floor, New World Mall, Flushing, New York. Taken 28 APR 2011. Photograph is composite of several images stitched together to produce a panoramic. View is from southwest corner (near elevator bank) looking southeast.



Grand Restaurant, Third Floor, New World Mall, Flushing, New York. Taken 28 APR 2011. Photograph is a composite of four separate images stitched together to produce a panoramic. View is from third floor elevator bank looking southeast.

Oh, and lest anyone think I'm being racially biased; for the record, I'm Chinese and have lived in Flushing for more than a quarter century.

All photographs copyright 2011 Ralphrepo; All rights reserved.

[antinimby]

Thanks for the update ralphrepo however you seem too disappointed in the outcome.

I think how it turned out is actually for the better. Why would anyone want another boring chain-filled mall?

Queens Center Mall is boring. Flushing is mostly Asian now so it should be geared towards the Asian community. This is what works for Flushing.

I love it.

BTW, I haven't been there since last November, so how is that project on the NE corner of Franklin and Main St. looking right now?

If you can take pics that would be great.

[ASchwarz]

This looks much nicer and more interesting to me than Queens Center Mall.

The mall certainly doesn't look junky from the pics. I see a nice catering hall, a big supermarket, and a fairly expensive-looking mall.

The developers did a good job, IMO.

[antinimby]

^ Agreed although it's too bad they didn't put housing on top. I mean, the 7 train station is right there for Christ's sake!

[ralphrepo]

Thanks for the update ralphrepo however you seem too disappointed in the outcome. I think how it turned out is actually for the better. Why would anyone want another boring chain-filled mall? Queens Center Mall is boring. Flushing is mostly Asian now so it should be geared towards the Asian community. This is what works for Flushing. I love it. BTW, I haven't been there since last November, so how is that project on the NE corner of Franklin and Main St. looking right now? If you can take pics that would be great.

Hi, Antinimby, no offense, but I think you've missed my point; my disappointment or problem with the new place is that all the other stores around it are selling exactly the same things for blocks around. For me, it's sorta like everyone is already selling grapes, and a new store opens, you hope it sells oranges, apples, bananas, whatever; but no, it sells (you guessed it) <sigh> ...more grapes. Thus, whenever I want something that those chains in QCM has, I already have to drive about 30 minutes each way (depending on traffic), look for parking, not to mention the gas prices and aggravation. If a little piece of QCM moved up the block next to me, I would not mind it in the least. As for putting housing on top, I'm not sure that they wanted to do that or even could; they sort of built the mall into the pre-existing structure, at least that's all their permit allowed for from what I understand by following the paper.

But, with all considered, I find that the supermarket is pretty decent. The much older Hong Kong Supermarket and several others like it are a bit run down. They're also always crowded, so I know that this new JMart is going to find customers regardless. I heard a rumor that the old Keyfood (Dans Supreme) Supermarket at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and Bowne Street, now converted to another Asian style Chinese supermarket (called New York Marts), is also owned by the same entity that owns New World Mall. How true this is, I don't know. But there's certainly food for thought.



New York Marts Supermarket Entrance, Flushing, New York. Taken 28 APR 2011. Photograph is a composite of six separate images stitched together to produce a panoramic. View is from northwest corner of Roosevelt Avenue and Bowne Street looking northwest.



East Buffet Restaurant Entrance, Flushing, New York. Taken 06 MAY 2011. Photograph is a composite of three separate images stitched together to produce a wide angle image. View is from east side of Main Street looking southwest.

As for Franklin Avenue and Main Street, the site of that former Chinese restaurant is still scaffolded with bare cement blocks showing (see right side of photo above, partially blocked by tree). I'm assuming that they're still in the midst of construction. I'm just hopeful that it doesn't turn out into another "out of money" project that then sits partially completed looking for rescue like the empty building next to the Saint Michael School on 41st Avenue.

All photographs copyright 2011 Ralphrepo; All rights reserved.

[antinimby]

Maybe grapes is what sells at that location?

We live in a free market. If people in the area wanted oranges, apples and bananas, then I'm sure they would be there, too.

[Sid]

What do you guys think of some sort of wide, landscaped, pedestrian bridge to attach Willets Point to Flushing. This could create one large, heavily-retailed walkable area. It would pass under the Van Wyck. Would this be feasible? I think something like this is necessary so you don't just have two dense, lively areas that are very close, but not directly accessible on foot from one another.

[ralphrepo]

Maybe grapes is what sells at that location? We live in a free market. If people in the area wanted oranges, apples and bananas, then I'm sure they would be there, too.

There no sense arguing about as it's already a done deal. I just hope that when Flushing Commons opens it won't be another ritzy version of Beijing in Flushing. I purposely moved from Chinatown years ago to live in a neighborhood with a better mix. Little could I have imagined that all my kinfolk decided to follow me out here. The only area of Flushing that hasn't been gentrified is ironically the Bland Houses City Projects. And, as my missus is fond of saying, that's the worst piece of real estate in Flushing, and it's also the best. Could you imagine what a developer would make off of a parcel like that?

What do you guys think of some sort of wide, landscaped, pedestrian bridge to attach Willets Point to Flushing. This could create one large, heavily-retailed walkable area. It would pass under the Van Wyck. Would this be feasible? I think something like this is necessary so you don't just have two dense, lively areas that are very close, but not directly accessible on foot from one another.

I'm not so sure that I could buy into that. There problem here is that unless there is something on the other side of that toxic Flushing Creek, no one in his right mind is going to want to walk anywhere near there. I know that the city has been trying to get the Willets Point body and junk shops to leave the area but when that actually happens is anyone's guess. If that were to happen, then the Roosevelt Avenue elevated rail and road bridge over the Van Wyck would do just fine with a bit of refurbishing. Right now, there is almost zero traffic going across that bridge to begin with (2 lanes in either direction with pedestrian walkway). IMHO, passing under the Van Wyck at the point that you indicated wouldn't be possible unless one learns to duck walk. The water levels sometimes comes almost up to the bottom of the roadway with high tide.

Alternatively, I think that in the future (probably long after either of us) someone's going to come up with a grand plan for reclamation of that section, permanently fill the creek in with cement, and then open up that entire area for development.

[Sid]

I see what you mean about not being able to pass under the highway. I guess it could pass over.

I was just think about when the Willets Point development gets underway. From the screengrab I took from Streetview, the narrow, fenced-in sidewalk along Roosevelt doesn't look very inviting (to say the least). I'm just picturing something wide, landscaped, well-lit, and inviting to create an inviting connection and one large, cohesive area instead of two. It could even have snack stands during the day, benches for seating etc.

Are you familiar with the pedestrian bridge they opened a while ago connecting the Hoboken and Jersey City waterfronts? Something like that is what I had in mind.

[antinimby]

So here's how 42-33 Main St (@ Franklin) turned out.

They obviously redesigned it from the earlier renderings. As expected they went the cheap route.

Oh...and it's now only 12 stories instead of the original proposed 17 stories.

[ramvid01]

In all honesty it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would turn out, however its hard to tell what the base looks like with that black netting. I don't however remember what the original render looked like.

Do you by chance AN have a copy of the old rendering since I can't seem to find it in this thread.

[antinimby]

While the original might not be everyone's cup of tea but at least you could say they tried to do something interesting. The realized version is just a basic, no-frills econo-box.




BTW, what you could see of the base through the netting is just a dark-colored glass.