Developer requested the rezoning in order to replace a one-story commercial structure with a twelve-story residential building. On February 24, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on Kew Point Associates LLC’s proposal to rezone an entire block bounded by Queens Boulevard, Kew Forest Lane, 78th Avenue, and Union Turnpike in Forest Hills, Queens. Portions of the block are currently zoned C4-2, C4-4, and R6. Kew Point requested that the Adjmientire block be rezoned to a C4-4D district. The rezoning would allow Kew Point to replace a one-story commercial building at the corner of Queens Boulevard and 78th Avenue with a twelve-story, 120-foot-tall residential building with 65 housing units, 46 below-grade parking spaces, and ground floor retail space. The remainder of the block consists of two-to-four-story residential buildings and an eleven-story mixed-use building.

At the Commission’s hearing, Jennifer Dickson, a real estate analyst with the law firm Herrick Feinstein LLP, spoke on behalf of Kew Point. Dickson testified that Kew Point modified its building proposal by incorporating a 30-foot rear setback at the structure’s eighth story in response to Queens Borough President Helen Marshall’s concerns about how the building would affect the smaller-scale buildings located south and west of the project site. Dickson said that although Kew Point had intended to begin construction after the rezoning was approved, it was now more likely to wait until the leases for the one-story building’s retail tenants expire.

The Commission has until April 20 to vote on the application.

CPC: 118-02 Queens Boulevard (C 060550 ZMQ – rezoning) (Feb. 24, 2010) (Architect: Gerald Caliendo).