Local Lending... Endless Possibilities

Page 2 aPril 2-8, 2015
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
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aPril 2-8, 2015 Page 3
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
On The Rise:
“ Families are starting
to move into the area
on the [LIC] waterfront. I don’t foresee,
in the immediate
future, [Queens
Plaza] being as much
of a family area.
–Douglas Partrick,
a co-owner of
Heatherwood
Communities
28 on 28th In Long Island
City, Queens’ Tallest
Residential Tower
square-foot lot on Queens Plaza
South four years ago, citing the developer-friendly area zoning laws,
the growth of the community, the
presence of mass transit and the
abundance of new jobs that have
recently been created in the neighborhood as reasons for the buy.
“With all the construction happening on the waterfront, it only
seemed like a natural progression
to come up [north],” Partrick added.
“You have the Citi building that has
sat here alone for a long, long time.
There were hopes that would be
the core and things would be built
around the Citi building; it just
took a little longer than people anticipated.”
Heatherwood
Communities
broke ground on the project last
May and expect to begin occupation
of the building in either late 2016 or
early 2017.
Though the list of amenities at 28
on 28th is tentative, the tower’s design firm, Whitehall Interiors NYC,
revealed that it’s expected to feature
”
chitecture as bland and uninspired.
However, Partrick is pleased with
what the Goldstein, Hill & West firm
hough favorable
have designed for his company’s latrezoning laws and
est mega project.
incremental econom“It’s a glass tower with some interesting
detail on it,” Partrick said.
ic healing have paved the
“It’s not just a straight glass tower;
way for a number of new
we have some fritted glass, top to
bottom, which is really going to give
developments in Long Isit a nice look, not a sterile look.”
land City the past few years,
About 60 percent of the units
42-12 28th Street will stand
in the tower will be one-bedroom
apartments, with studios, twoabove them all—literally
bedroom flats, and just a handful of
and, perhaps, figuratively as
three-bedroom homes available for
well.
rent as well.
“Families are starting to move into
More affectionately dubbed “28
the area on the [LIC] waterfront,”
on 28th”- by the Heatherwood
Partrick said. “I don’t foresee, in the
Communities development firm,
immediate future, [Queens Plaza]
the team responsible for the risbeing as much of a family area. With
ing glass construct, this building,
the waterfront, you have the esplanamed for the street it will rise on,
nade, the green areas, all of which
will be the tallest residential tower
are conducive to taking the kids out
in Queens when it opens, stretching
with a little less traffic.”
635 feet into the sky `- the second
Considering the proximity to
tallest building in the Borough after
Manhattan, Partrick feels 28 on 28th
nearby One Court Square,
will attract a more careeralso known as the Citi buildoriented clientele who can
ing - and housing 477 luxury
certainly appreciate a swift
rental apartments.
commute. It’s too soon for
But for Douglas Partrick,
Heatherwood Communities
a co-owner of Heatherwood
to announce rent rates, but
Communities, the goal isn’t
Partrick noted that the local
to cast a sizable shadow over
market is currently creating
the rest of the neighbora demand range of $45-$55
hood.
per square foot, which would
Indicating that he wasn’t
mean a typical one-bedroom
even aware the project would
apartment, like those in the
be the tallest residential
company’s neighboring 27
building in the Borough unon 27th building, projects
til he “read [it] somewhere,”
to go for at least $3,200 per
Partrick, speaking nonchantmonth.
ly in a recent interview near
No matter the cost, Parthe construction site, said it
trick is confident residents
was “just the way the design
are going to like what they
worked most efficiently” for
come home to.
Heatherwood Communities.
“If you look at the other
He added that the project is
buildings we’ve done, you’ll
focused on providing fresh,
see quality,” he said. “We put
high-end housing opportua lot of time into the finishnities for Queens.
es. I don’t want to be replacHeatherwood Communi- The construction site at 42-12 28th St. where Queens’ tallest residential building ing things in 28 on 28th right
ties purchased the 18,000- will rise.
away.”
By Michael Stahl
PHOTO BY JACKIE STRAWBRIDGE
T
a swimming pool, 50-space parking
garage, bicycle storage, additional
tenant storage space, a resident’s
lounge, fully-equipped fitness center with a spa, a screening room,
children’s playroom and gaming
lounge.
“It’s not going to be about just
what goes on in their apartment,”
Partrick said. “People want to experience a lifestyle in the [entire]
building. That’s what people can
look forward to.”
Two outdoor spaces - an outdoor
deck along with a spacious rooftop
terrace and sky lounge on the 56th
floor - are also in the plans. Naturally, western-facing units should
have some extraordinary city views,
with 432 Park Avenue - Manhattan’s tallest residential building prominently on display just across
the adjacent Ed Koch Queensboro
Bridge.
Critics have questioned a number of new high rises across the city,
including the pillar-like 432 Park
Avenue, often characterizing the ar-
Page 4 aPril 2-8, 2015
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
Flushing’s Transformation:
close to 461,000-square-feet of office
and retail space when complete.
Work is also continuing on the
Eastern Mirage project, a mixed
hotel-medical center that will be
Flushing’s tallest building at 42-31
Union St.
In addition to those development
projects, plans have once again surfaced that look to redevelop the historic RKO Keith’s Theater – a cornerstone of Flushing’s past – for the
fourth and possibly final time.
In its hey-day, the
three-story RKO Keith’s
Theater in Flushing was
one of the most storied
movie palaces in New
York City. Erected in
1928, the “atmospheric”
venue was known for its
stoic Spanish Baroque
Revival style interior,
which helped earn its
ticket lobby and grand
foyer the designation of
landmark.
In 1986, when the theater closed, the new owner
Thomas Huang started to
demolish the space with
plans to turn it into a 350room international hotel.
PH OT O BY
DA NI EL OF
Under Huang’s ownership,
FN ER
landmarked portions of the
theater were demolished,
which sparked community
activists to petition that the
In 2011, developers with ONEX
entire structure be granted
Real Estate Partners opened the “landmark status.”
first of a three phase development
Cheshire Frager, a member of the
project – to bring 448 condo units Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s
and a nearly 800,000 square-foot Theatre of Flushing, said that at the
shopping center to the area.
time, the committee collected sigAfter completing the first phase, natures more than 3,000 signatures
developers now have their sights set from residents who wanted to see
on the construction of The Grand at the theater preserved. However, the
Sky View Parc, which entails con- petition would fall upon deaf ears,
struction of three residential towers as then-Borough President Claire
with a combined total of 650 condo- Shulman refused to support landminium units.
marking the entire property.
Since last summer, when developSince that time, the RKO Keith’s
ers first broke ground at the former Theater has been left in its dilapisite of Municipal Lot No. 1, the con- dated state.
struction of Flushing Commons – a
In 2005, the Board of Standard
mixed use residential, commercial, and Appeals approved an applicaretail and community space with a tion to develop a 17-story mixed use
1,600-space public parking garage building with close to 400 rental
– has been making major headway. units in downtown Flushing. At the
While construction is still ongoing, time plans were presented, Comthe project aims to bring approxi- munity Board 7 Chairman Eugene
mately 600 new residential units and Kelty and first Vice President Chuck
Apelian voted against it.
“That was really going
to impact the area,” Kelty
said. “I feel more comfortable with where we
are now.”
A Bedroom Community
Turned Commercial Hub
BY DANIEL OFFNER Staff Writer
O
nce a quiet sleepy
suburb at the end
of the subway,
Flushing has boomed in
recent decades to become
a Queens commercial and
residential hub, with its
own skyline and even its
own word in the language
of the immigrant population who spearheaded its
renaissance.
At the height of the 20th century,
Flushing was renowned as a hot-spot
for some of the American film industry elite. Over the years it would
play host to several vaudeville acts
and performances from legendary
actors like the Marx Brothers, Bob
Hope, among others.
But back then, Flushing was
mostly a residential community,
dotted with private homes and commercial strips like a typical American suburb. That all changed in the
mid 20th Century.
In the 1970s, the Chinese immigrant population in Flushing began
to boom. At the time, many of those
moving into the area were former
Chinese Nationalists, who fled to
Taiwan after losing a civil war to the
communist regime.
As the Taiwanese population
continued to grow, so did Flushing, and by 1990 Asian-Americans
represented 41 percent of the population. There is even a word in Chinese for the neighborhood; 法拉盛
or Falasheng.
With them came a building
boom. Today, Flushing has one of
the strongest real estate markets in
the five boroughs – with home sales
prices appreciating 33.7 percent
over the last five years, according to
Trulia.com.
Some of the biggest development
to take place in Flushing in recent
years, include: Citi Field – which officially opened its doors to the New
York Mets fans in 2009 – the New
World Shopping Mall, Sky View
Parc, Flushing Commons and several big chain hotels, including the
Sheraton on 39th Avenue.
The New World Shopping Mall
opened in Downtown Flushing in
2011, and is the largest Asian shopping center in New York State. The
three-story shopping mall features
108 retail shops, an Asian supermarket on the first and second floor and
is home to one of the largest Chinese dim sum restaurants and banquet halls in the Tri-State area.
continued on page 9
RENDERING COURTESY
JK EQUITIES
The RKO Keith’s Theater, closed since 1986,
as it would look if redevelopment plans go
through.
aPril 2-8, 2015 Page 5
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
Interest Rate Hikes
are Coming…
Eventually
BY MICHAEL STAHL
L
ast December, the
Federal Reserve provided the financial
world some insight into
its plans to “normalize the
stance of monetary policy.”
It’s hoping to eventually
bring interest rates back up
to a healthy 3.5 or 4 percent,
and indicated that it would
be “patient” in doing so.
On March 18, after the institution’s monthly gathering, the Fed
offered an updated statement about
their prospective approach with a
most conspicuous deletion of the
word “patient,” which prompted a
follow up from Chairwoman Janet
Yellen. She said in a press confer-
ence: “Just because we removed the
word ‘patient’ from the statement,
doesn’t mean we’re going to be impatient.” Since the global financial
crisis hit in 2008, the Fed has attempted to spur the national economy by keeping the Federal funds
rate at between zero and one-quarter of one percent, and they haven’t
raised rates at all since June 2006.
But with the economy recently entering a new phase of recovery, pundits began speculating about the inevitable uptick in interest rates.
Yellen’s use of the word “patient”
surprised analysts in December,
while the omission of it two weeks
ago seemingly caught no one off
guard. The focus on the question
as to when rate hikes would come
into effect was feverishly rebooted.
Many experts who have painstakingly waded through the edits and
double negatives in the Fed’s announcements agree that interest
rates may go up sometime between
June and September. However, the
increase will probably be characterized as more of a hop than a leap.
Incremental changes are less likely
to harm the economy’s growth, and
even the Fed probably doesn’t expect to get rates up to 4 percent until 2018 at the earliest.
What does all of this mean for the
housing market? In the short term:
very little.
“People are very slow to listen and
respond,” says Ira Schulte, a real estate broker at Citi Habitats with 21
years of experience. “It’s going to
take a while before rates go up and
affect the marketplace.”
Once the banks are hit with higher loan rates from the Fed, typically
the increase in cost is passed on to
the customer. But Schulte is quick
to point out that, historically, when
Fed interest rate bumps were more
frequent - occurring on a monthly
basis during some stretches - they
would only measure a quarter of a
point or even less. “So, we’re only
talking maybe $50 a month more
in a mortgage payment for a buyer,”
Schulte says of the projected initial
increases for 2015. “For most people,
that’s not going to dissuade them
from purchasing a home.”
continued on page 8
The Fed Funds Rate, which peaked at 19 percent in the early 1980s, has
been at near zero since the 2009 financial crisis in an effort to spur
the struggling economy.
Page 6 aPril 2-8, 2015
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
Zoning Could Be Curbing Interest In Parkway
By Luis Gronda
Staff Writer
T
he Parkway Hospital
site in Forest Hills is
back on the market
for prospective buyers.
The vacant facility adjacent to
the Grand Central Parkway, which
housed the hospital until its closure
in 2008, is available for sale by its
owner, Jasper Venture Group.
The group’s repeated attempts to
flip the property have failed. The
building was sold in an auction
last year, which was later cancelled
after that buyer did not meet the
required payment schedule for the
property.
Jasper is reportedly looking to get
about $20 million for the 107,000
square-foot building, located at 7035 113th St.
But there may be some limitations as to what a prospective buyer
can do with the property, potentially driving down interest in the
building.
According to one Queens-based
developer, who has toured the facility and declined to be named for this
story, the building’s current zoning,
R1-2A, handcuffs what can be done
a zoning change to a higher density, which requires approval by the
City.
The source said there are additional costs that come with buying
the property, including its renovation cost.
“The building may need to be
torn down completely,” the developer said.
Michael Cohen, spokesperson
for Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), said
that the Council member
would be receptive to the
possibility of a high-rise
building in that area, provided the developer who
buys it met with Koslowitz
and the community about
what they plan to do at the
site and listen to their feedback.
Jasper Venture Group referred questions about the
property to Avison Young, a
Manhattan-based firm who
is handling the marketing of the property. Calls
and emails made to Avison
Young have not been returned as of press time.
Reach Luis Gronda at
(718) 357-7400, Ext. 127,
Zoning regulations may be to blame for the failure to sell and develop the site lgronda@queenstribune.
of Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills, which closed in 2009
com, or @luisgronda.
with the property if a company decides to buy it.
The R1-2A zoning allows for lowdensity, single-family detached
homes, similar to the housing
stock found in Forest Hills near the
hospital site, and in other neighborhoods such as Jamaica Estates.
That zoning can be ignored if a developer intends to build a medical
or an educational facility, provided
it is a community facility, a Depart-
ment of City Planning spokesperson said.
The R1-2A zoning has a maximum
floor area ratio of 0.5, a maximum
building height of 35 feet and a
maximum perimeter wall of 25 feet,
according to City Planning.
The developer said prospective
buyers may be more interested if
they have the option to build a highrise residential facility. For that to
be possible there would have to be
aPril 2-8, 2015 Page 7
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
RendeRing couRtesy of goldstein, Hill & West ARcHitects
A rendering of the proposed development at the Mary Immaculate
Hospital site.
‘Immaculate’ Concept
For Defunct Hospital
By JORDAN GIBBONS Staff Writer
A
new proposal is in
the works for the
former Mary Immaculate Hospital building
in Downtown Jamaica to
revitalize the rundown site,
which has remained unused
since the facility was closed
in 2009.
The project, which was revealed by
the architect firm Goldstein, Hill &
West Architects, LLP, plans to completely rebuild the two main structures of the hospital, located at 150-13
89th Ave., into a new 16-story luxury
rental with 324 proposed apartments,
replacing its façade with a contemporary metal and glass skin.
The original hospital building will
have its limestone and brick façade
restored according to the description on the architect’s website.
A third structure, the Townhouses, is a four-story historic building, which will be converted into 15
apartments. The project could later
include four other buildings on the
block.
There is also an enclosed parking
area with 237 spaces in the plans.
An application to convert the
building into rental apartments
was submitted to the Department
of Buildings in September, but was
disapproved in November for failure
to meet code compliance standards,
according to a DOB spokesperson.
The property, which fell into disrepair over the years, has 117 violations still open under the DOB.
The site, which is located directly
north of Rufus King Park, is zoned as
an R6 residential area, so no commercial space can be built on the land.
The 94-ft., seven-story building
will become a 196-ft. tower under
the current application.
When the hospital was shuttered
in 2009, Community Board 12 was
actively against its closing since it
was the only full-service medical
facility in the district. Adrienne Adams, chair of CB 12, said that losing
that fight was a detriment to the
community.
“Over the past few years, we hoped
that our voices would be heard and
that the new owner would at least
place another much-needed medical facility in its place,” Adams said.
“Today, we are still without a hospital in Community Board 12 and are
instead getting luxury apartments
in its place. Expensive housing, less
resources… we continue to wait for
the needs of the community to be
met. This is not the answer.”
The Chetrit Group, which purchased the property in 2009, and
GHWA did not return calls for comment.
Reach Jordan Gibbons at (718)
357-7400, Ext. 123, jgibbons@queenspress.com or @jgibbons2.
PHoto by JoRdAn gibbons
Mary Immaculate Hospital was
closed in 2009.
Page 8 aPril 2-8, 2015
Ridgewood:
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
Williamsburg’s $2.1 million median
home listing prices, not to mention
the $1.3 million figures found within
Ridgewood’s home borough on the
border between Long Island City
and Astoria. Ridgewood also ranks
among the safest neighborhoods in
Queens on Trulia.com and greatly
outperforms both Bed-Stuy and
Bushwick when it comes to crime
rates.
The median sales price of Ridgewood
properties has only recently
BY MICHAEL STAHL
risen to that of the average Queens
transaction, while the average pricever the past two years, there have been reports
per-square foot in the neighborand proclamations from a gaggle of publications
hood is barely a tick higher than the
borough’s average, surpassing that
declaring that Ridgewood is the Queens incarnathreshold just six months ago.
tion of a fill-in-the-blank neighborhood of Brooklyn. “It’s
“The area’s booming,” Hillel says,
only one stop outside of Bushwick on the M train.” “Its
adding that people are attracted to
the public transportation options,
prices are rising at a Williamsburg-like pace.” “It’s safer
burgeoning retail, the safety of the
than Bedford-Stuyvesant.” Though all of these statements
neighborhood and, of course, the
relatively reasonable prices. “Rents
are true, the comparisons between Ridgewood and those
are going up, especially over the last
Kings County plots aren’t quite justified…yet.
two or three years, and we just sold
a property on 60th Lane for $21 mil“You’ll get more for your money themselves priced out of what are lion, which was unheard of a few
years ago.”
here,” says Aaron Hillel, co-founder now high-profile neighborhoods.
Trulia.com’s most recent statisHe adds that rates will most cerof the Hillel Realty Group located
at the cross section of Myrtle and tics indicate the median home list- tainly continue to rise as new develCypress avenues. “Prices are still ing prices in Ridgewood top out at opments open their doors, includbetter here than East Williamsburg, $549,000 to a low of $309,000. Those ing residential, commercial and
Bushwick, even Bedford-Stuyve- numbers pale in comparison to East retail spaces.
Matej reports a
sant. Ridgewood’s also got
dearth of inventory
that historic vibe. It’s not
as another cause of
as commercial or indusraised rates.
trial; it’s mostly a residen“There’s
not
tial neighborhood with a
enough,” she says.
lot of nice-looking pre-war
“A lot of people have
buildings.”
lived and owned in
Lillian Matej of Cooper
Ridgewood for 30 or
& Katz Real Estate Corp.,
40 years and they’re
who has 13 years of real esnot as likely to sell
tate experience, concurs.
just because there’s
“There are a lot of people
demand. A lot of the
who are finding value here
sales that we get are
in Queens,” she says, pointestates.”
ing out that the area is exWhen asked to
periencing a “spillover”
provide a listing infrom Brooklyn where there
are a growing number of For those looking for affordable options close to Man- dicative of what buyers can look for in
buyers and renters finding hattan, Ridgewood is still one to look at ...for now.
Not the New
Williamsburg…Yet
O
the area, Matej had nothing current
to offer, pointing out the furious
pace of the market as properties are
snatched up after just days of availability.
So, the people in Ridgewood are
older, the neighborhood is almost
completely residential, crime rates
are delightfully low and costs are but
slightly above borough average—for
now.
The new Brooklyn?
If housing prices keep going up,
that’s a possibility down the…err…M
train.
Featured
Ridgewood
listings:
64-05 Gates Avenue
A two-story, multi-family
home with five bedrooms and
two bathrooms, this pre-war
brick building just hit the market within the past three weeks.
There’s approximately 3,300
square feet of living space in the
Colonial-style home, a patio, 11
total rooms, hardwood floors,
a full basement with a separate
entrance, and a private driveway
and garage.
17-43 Grove Street
A two-family home, which has
been converted into a three-family, income-generating building,
this property could be a steal. It’s
been on the market for nearly
five months, possibly because it
needs a fair share of work done
on it. A buyer with the means
though might want to take advantage of its availability. The
property is on a beautiful, treelined street close to mass transit,
and has a spacious backyard.
For more on these listings,
visit Trulia.com.
The Fed’s Interest Rate Hikes are Coming... Eventually
continued from page 5
The fact that 2016 is a presidential election year can also mean
stunted growth for maturing interest rates. Though President Obama
nominated Yellen for her position
as Fed chair, she arguably has closer ties to Hillary Clinton, the Democrats’ 2016 presidential frontrunner. Yellen served as chair of the
White House Council of Economic
Advisers in the late 1990s under
President Bill Clinton. Though
Yellen is already guaranteed to
hold a position on the Fed’s board
through 2024, her political history
generates speculation that Obama
and Hillary Clinton—should she
run for the presidency and win—
could both use their influence on
the Fed’s chair to keep rates down
next year, thus aiding the Democratic Party in their quest to maintain control of the White House.
When it comes to real estate
transactions, the bottom line, according to Schulte, is that “if someone has the money to [buy property], they should be doing it now.”
“Two years from now, prices in
Queens are going to be more expensive because that’s what’s happening, and interest rates are going
to be higher,” he explained.
Schulte advises prospective
buyers to educate themselves
about finance and if they need to
save money for a down payment
to start immediately.
“In a typical co-op, you’ll need 20
percent down,” he says. “In Queens,
a good one-bedroom will cost between 200 and 300 thousand dollars, so the down payment will run
40 to 60 grand.” Schulte adds that
oftentimes a bank will want to see a
year of mortgage funds in savings as
well, which means a hopeful buyer
should have 80 thousand dollars
or more of disposable income at
the ready—if in fact they want to
purchase a one-bedroom co-op in
a desirable neighborhood and not
something more expensive.
Still, Schulte points out that
Queens remains relatively affordable when compared to the mighty
markets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, calling the activity and prices
in those boroughs simply “crazy.”
Regardless of residency in a particular borough, city, or state, it’s
a safe bet that the Federal Reserve
will raise their interest rates in the
near future and eventually cause
an increase in the costs of mortgage loans. So it’s good advice to
either buy now or certainly plan
on purchasing within the next 12
to 24 months—though, even if the
Fed reaches their goal of “normal”
4-percent rates, those will still be
microscopic compared to the 19percent historical high witnessed
in 1980 and half of what rates were
in the late 1980s.
aPril 2-8, 2015 Page 9
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
Co-working and
the 21st Century
By Michael Stoler
M
ore and more young
entrepreneurs are
looking to co-working facilities to secure relatively inexpensive desk and
office space. In addition to
WiFi, conference rooms and
kitchen and snack prep areas,
these rental business studios
offer new companies the opportunity to meet with others
in their field of interest, as
well a venture capitalist and
established business leaders.
The co-working space industry is
growing by leaps and bounds, especially in New York City. Currently,
the biggest player in the co-working
universe is WeWork, which launched
in New York in 2010 and has brought
on 20,000 tenants in less than five
years. It already has 13 locations in
New York City alone, and is rapidly
expanding throughout the U.S. and
around the world. Earlier this year,
WeWork signed a lease for 240,000square-feet of space at 85 Broad
Street in Lower Manhattan. Another
leader in the field is AlleyNYC, who
recently entered into a ten year lease
for 36,000-square-feet at 119-125
West 24th St.
With many technology startups
operating in Brooklyn, the latest
co-working company to capitalize
in the hot Borough is CoWork.rs.
Earlier this year the company signed
a lease for 42,000-square-feet at 92
Third Ave. in the Gowanus section of
Brooklyn.
Long Island City is the home of
QNS Collective, located at 36-27
36th St. Individuals have the opportunity pay $25 a day to work from a
communal space. A student with a
valid student ID is offered a special
price of $99 a month for communal
space and meet room access. Similar to other co-working spaces, individuals can rent on a monthly basis,
communal and desk space as well as
a private office with conference room
access with prices starting at $500
per month.
Create NY Space is located in the
heart of Astoria, at 35-18 37th St.,
next to the Museum of the Moving
Images. The Aurora Gallery, a graffiti
art gallery is the creator of this company. The company boasts that their
space is a non-tradition co-working
space, focusing more on the comfort of the creative mind. They offer
a Lab-café with bottomless cups of
coffee and several lounge-style seating areas. If desired, a private meeting room is available. This nontraditional co-working company is open
fewer hours during the week from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and Sunday by request.
In March, Regus, an office suite
provider signed a ten year lease for
34,000-square-feet on the third floor
of the Falchi Building at 31-00 47th
Ave. in Long Island City. This is the
company’s first Queens location for
the office space provider which has
2000 business centers in 750 cities
worldwide.
age cost going for anywhere between $400,000 to approximately
Flushing’s
$2 million for the penthouse.
Despite the new plans to build
Transformation luxury
condos while also preserving
continued from page 4
Now, more than ten years since
the BSA approved plans, developers are proposing to amend the
BSA application to increase the
building height by 15-feet, reduce
the number of residential units to
allow 269 market-rate condos, reduce the number of parking spaces and change the façade along
Northern Boulevard.
“This is the last piece of the
puzzle,” developer Jerry Karlik told
the Queens Tribune. “We’re ready
to break ground as soon as we get
approval.”
According to Karlik, the proposed condo units will range from
500 to 1,600 sq. ft., with the aver-
the landmarked ticket booth and
front lobby, Frager said she is most
disappointed with the fact that the
developers are proposing to build a
tenant-only parking garage where
3,200 patrons used to sit.
“Shame on Queens… we could
have had a restored theater,” Frager
said. “A corrupt Borough Hall sunk
the Keith’s.”
Kelty said that while he would’ve
loved to see the RKO Keith’s restored
as a performing arts center, nobody
was able to come up with the money.
“That was 30 years ago,” Kelty
said. “It has been an eyesore… it’s
time to move forward.”
Reach Daniel Offner at (718) 3577400, Ext. 125, doffner@queenstribune.com, or @DanielOffner.
Right photo by Daniel offneR
Flushing has changed a lot in recent decades, such as 136-61
Roosevelt Ave. in 1985, left and in 2015, right.
AdvErTOrIAL
The Joy Of Homeownership Is
Still Alive And Well – Online
Owning a home is for many an
important part of the American
dream. However, the process of securing a mortgage and buying that
home may seem significantly less
dreamy.
Responding to this challenge,
Ridgewood Savings
Bank has developed
Joyofhomeowernship.
com, a website dedicated to reminding
potential home buyers of the joys of homeownership, while also providing
answers to top home-buying questions. Designed to be as fun as it is
informative, joyofhomeowernship.
com provides.
Two-minute video answers to
many of the most frequently asked
mortgage and home-buying process
questions such as:
• Should I buy now?
• What are the types of mortgages?
• Do I really need an attorney?
Additionally, the site is loaded
with other things homebuyers will
find useful, such as easy-to-use calculators, current mortgage rates, downloadable FAQs, and a helpful “ask
any question” section that promises
a response within 24 hours.
There’s also a Get Started section, which invites you to sign up to
attend a free homebuying
seminar,
start the mortgage
process online and
find a local mortgage consultant by
just typing in your
zip code.
Joyofhomeownership.com is tablet and mobile friendly, so you can
access the site’s features and information from anywhere, anytime.
Considering buying a home?
If so, visit joyofhomeowenership.
com today and put yourself one
step closer to your dream. Ridgewood Savings Bank is dedicated to
providing you with the answers and
the personal service you’ll need to
make the process of homeownership go as smoothly as possible.
Equal Housing Lender
Page 10 aPril 2-8, 2015
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
Do Your Own Comps: See How a Home’s
Worth Using PropertyShark
By GeorGiana
Mihaila
W
hether you’re thinking about buying
or selling, putting a $ figure next to a home
might seem like quite a task.
But making sure that a home
is priced accordingly is crucial,
so here’s a little help on how to
do it properly.
A home’s value is determined
by looking at sale prices of similar
properties in the area. Since you
can’t go asking neighbors how much
they bought their house for, turning to reliable online resources that
have access to solid sales data is the
obvious choice.
Enter PropertyShark, a leading
real estate data provider that takes
its sales data from hundreds of public and proprietary sources and updates it on a daily basis. PropertyShark offers a superior comparables
tool that will do your pricing for you
by pulling out prices paid for recently sold homes – similar in size,
characteristics and location with
the one that interests you – and return the market value of a home.
Unlike the automated valuation
models you’d normally find on most
real estate websites, PropertyShark’s
tool allows you to narrow your
search down to the finest details,
as to include only the most similar
homes in your comps search. You
can search by neighborhood, zip
code, or radius, by property type or
building class, add filters like number of rooms, square footage, number of stories, extension or garage,
lot square footage, property taxes
and much more.
And since the tool has been conceived to suit the needs of real estate pros and home buyers alike,
here are some of its most specific benefits, based on your own
needs:
For home buyers and sellers:
• search by property type and
building class: single family, condos, co-ops, elevator, walk-ups
• advanced filters: number of
beds, baths, square footage, lot size,
number of stories etc.
• see the value of
a condo by looking
only at sales in that
particular building
For agents and
brokers:
• advanced search
criteria
options
available, like number of units, block
and lot, zoning and
more
• include only
arm’s-length transaction in your
comps search
• specify exact
time and price
ranges for the
sales
For appraisers:
• access the
FNMA
form
straight
from
your
Comps
search
• see aggregate values on the
1004MC form
• export data to your Comps Database with WinTotal
under the same neighborhood or
zip code, you can draw your own
area on a map using PropertyShark’s
polygon tool.
Quick Fact: if you’re interested
in a particular area that doesn’t fall
Georgiana Mihaila is an associate
editor with PropertyShark.
In the Works:
A Rundown of Recently Conceived Future Constructs in Queens
By Michael Stahl
Flushing
Permits were recently filed with
the Department of Buildings by the
F & T Group to begin developing
the second stage of their Two Fulton
Square project located on the site
of the now-closed Flushing Mall.
This phase of Two Fulton Square is
expected to be a 13-story mixed-use
building with more than 190,000
square feet of residential and commercial space sitting next to the
development’s first stage: another
mixed-use, 397-unit building with
752,000 square feet of residential
and retail space. Condo buyers can
look forward to amenities such as
a fitness center, game room, laundry room, and garage parking with
shopping opportunities literally
steps away. Designed by architect
Margulies Hoelzli, known locally
for work on the Queens Crossing
building and the F & T Group’s sister
project One Fulton Square, which
is just a block away and had a softopening last fall, the new building
will have 192 modern apartments
spread throughout the 13 flights.
Astoria
Treeline, Glenmont Capital Management and B31 Astoria Development LLC are co-developing a new
seven-story mixed-use building that
will house 114 apartment units and a
handful of retail outlets throughout
the construct’s 102,060 square feet.
There will be a mix of studios, onebedroom, two-bedroom, and threebedroom homes with building amenities including a lounge, gym, and
a courtyard/terrace with barbecue
grills and a yoga studio. Designed by
SLCE Architects, all involved parties
hope to begin occupancy in about 18
months, and this building could set
the stage for conception of similar
developments in the neighborhood.
Long Island City
SLCE Architects are also apparently having their say at the site of
43-22 Queens St., just off Jackson
Avenue, recently posting renderings
of this project as well. The Rockrose
development group, who purchased
the lot in 2012 for $48 million, is putting up a 54-story apartment tower
there that will stretch 580 reflective,
glassy feet into the sky. Demolition
for this project began 8 months ago
when portions of the former Eagle
Electric warehouse were torn down.
There will be a reported 783 apartments available, many of them loftstyle, in the new 587,860-squarefoot building that SLCE Architects
have been charged with designing.
The Star Tower condominium
is expected to see presales begin
in spring of 2017. Located at 42-26
28th Street, the 27-story building
will contain 182 units, 135 of which
will be of the one-bedroom variety, with the remaining apartments
featuring two-bedrooms. The lot
was purchased by the Hiwin Group
and ground was just broken within
the past couple weeks. JLS Designs
have been named architects, and
the building is expected to have a
full slate of boutique amenities that
will tentatively include an elevator,
24-hour doorman and concierge service, movie theater, fitness center,
outdoor lounge, private gardens in
select units, and duplex penthouses.
College Point
New York Yimby reported that a
10-story, mixed-use building is be-
ing developed in College Point by
Guan Y. Li. The construct will house
a 48-room hotel on its top four
floors, a community facility space on
the third through sixth floors, while
a 116-space parking garage will take
up the first two above-ground floors
along with two more subterranean
levels. Noel Wong has been named
architect and there is speculation
that the project will attract renters
from the medical field.
Elmhurst
Another hotel is expected to be
included in an upcoming mixed-use
building located at 78-06 Queens
Blvd. According to New York Yimby,
the 11-story construct will have residential units, a community facility,
and parking garage along with the
94-room hotel, which is also projected to feature a restaurant/bar.
Kambanis Architects filed the permits with Triple East Queens Tower
LLC listed as the developer. The site
was purchased for a cool $4.56 million in 2013. It is located adjacent to
the Pan American Hotel building,
which became a homeless shelter in
2014.
aPril 2-8, 2015 Page 11
Tribune/Press Real estate MaRketplace
CLASSIFIEDS
Houses Wanted
Realtor
WHAT IS YOUR HOME WORTH?
jerry fink real estate
160-10 Crossbay Blvd.
Howard Beach, NY 11414
Free, quick over the Net evaluation of your home.
Learn about homes that have been sold and are currently
listed in your neighborhood.
GET THE FACTS WITHOUT THE PRESSURE.
Based on this information, you will know what
your home is worth. This is a complete confidential market
analysis and is absolutely free!!
Visit: www.PriceMyHouse.us
or call 1-800-882-6030 Ext 607
24/7 FREE Community Service
Real Estate
CALL: 718-357-7400
e-mail: queenstribuneads@aol.com
Listing Special
3%
Call for details
Office 718-766-9175
Cell 917-774-6121
Email-Jfinkre@yahoo.com
Relocating -Buying -Selling
Consider Staten Island & Brooklyn
Call Claire Bisignano Chesnoff,
NYS Licensed Real Estate Broker
Claire Properties
Direct: 917-974-2238
info@claireproperties.com
www.claireproperties.com
“Like” us
on Facebook
Queens Tribune
Newspaper
Building 4 Sale
Beautiful 2 story home sits on 14 Ac, 4BR, 2.5BA,
EIK leads to large FR/brick FP, Formal DR off /
2 story entry, Laundry, half Bath from 2 car Gar,
25 x 50 heated ingr pool 8,000 sq ft. paved tiered
patio. Office/T.V Rm leads to patio, pool house,
privacy fence, stocked trout pond, heat pump,
AC, 24KW Generac generator, Much more.
Helen Wolfgang - Realtor
Centre Street Real Estate
570-590-3446
helencentres1@hotmail.com
Apts. For Rent
flushing
Studios
1 BR
2 BR
3 BR
$900/mth
$1000
$1500
$1850
Place
Your Ad Here
Call Broker
718-939-5600
New Jersey Space
whse-storage mfg
off rte 78 new jersey
3000 To 20,000 Sq Ft
Available - Hi Ceilings
Heavy Tower - Offices &
Lg Apt also available
Safe Secure Neighborhood
Call for more info
For Rent
whitestone:
Commercial space 500sq. ft. heat incl.
New 3BR/2BA 1st flr. H.I. Rare..... $2,200
Stunning 2BR First floor, new
kitchen/bath, Backyard priv., includes
basement with Washer Dryer....... $2,400
Gorgeous 2BR First Floor, Backyard priv.,
fresh paint, very large
Nice 3BR with back balcony EIK, LV, DR,
parking.......................................... $2,275
Fab 2BR/1BA, EIK, Large LR, DR. $1,800
Fresh Meadows: 3BR Duplex, 2BA,
EIK, LR/DR combo, newly renovated,
private entrance............................ $2,100
Astoria: Commercial Space, great area
1,600, 1,000 and 850 SF avail.
718-767-0080 • 917-821-9518
R .E. Seminar
House 4 Sale
HOWARD BEACH
March 26, 2015
At 7:00PM
Call now to register and get
additional details. Inviting all
Buyers and Sellers.
Don’t miss out. Complimentary
snacks and refreshments
will be served.
718-454-9000
House Wanted
houses bought
All Cash
Any Condition
Estate Specialist
Out Of State
TOMS RIVER NJ
An Affordable & Active
Adult Community
“HOMESTEAD RUN”
NEW manufactured HOMES
For SALE starting at $54,900
CALL TODAY! 800-275-2911
www.homesteadrun.com
The Catskills
adrianne realty
days 516-946-7771
*FREE
REAL ESTATE
SEMINAR
Claire Properties
Direct: 917-974-2238
Office: 718-524-4424
718-217-2000
Beechurst
Hi-Ranch, 3BR, 1½ Bth
Full Bsmt. 2 Car Gar.
$3500/mth.
Mariners Harbor,
Staten Island, NY
Brick & stucco
building w/3
residential rentals
& one commercial
space. Apartments
are all electric
w/separate thermostats & meters.
Warehouse /store front is electric & has
gas heat available w/separate meter.
Owners meter for common areas.
Tenants are N.Y.C.H.A.
New roof 2011, new
windows 2012 and warehouse has
ceilings of 13 feet. Apartments were
redone in 2012. $279,900
156-21 96th Street
BEAUTIFULLY
RENOVATED
1-Family Brick
w/2 Units
$549K
4 Bedrooms,
Private Driveway,
Terrace, Backyard & Basement
w/ Separate Entrance.
CALL JANE COSTAGLIOLA
(917) 807 1421
718-388-2188
117. 8 ACRES surveyed off the
grid camp w/year around
stream and several pond Sites.
Near Cannonsville Res. Lake.
Asking $300,000
Real Estate Broker Owned
607-865-5357 Todd Ogden
dtodd79@yahoo.com
D. T. Ogden Real Estate
Unfernished Apt.
flushing 158th st.
Near Northern Blvd. & LIRR.
New 1 BR - $1,275
4th flr. walkup. No Pets.
No brokers. No Fee
718-358-3564
718-575-9600
LYNBROOK, NY
22 Washington Ave.
Professionally redone 50x100 side hall
Queens Anne. New home w/o new
home price, New concrete.
Priced to sell. SD 12, Taxes: 13,900.
20% approved reduction.
Principles only
516-526-0571 $409,900
SPRINGFIELD
GARDEN
2 Family Fully Renovated
6BR 5 Full Bath
Fin Bsmt - Garage W/DW
Big Back Yard No CC Low DP
Asking 449K
917-957-9969
Heating Oil
7 UNIT INVESTMENT
PROPERTY
In Ozone Park, Rental 120K
2 Family Custom Built
New House In
Wakefield $799K
Contact Raj
917-957-9969