Developer sought to amend previously issued variance for seventeenstory project by increasing number of apartments and parking spaces. In December 2005, BSA granted Boymelgreen Developers’ variance request to build a seventeen-story building enveloping and preserving the landmarked interior of the RKO Keith’s Theater at 135-35 Northern Boulevard in Flushing, Queens. The project would have provided 200 condominiums, a 229-space belowgrade parking garage, and commercial and community facility space. 3 CityLand 11 (Feb. 15, 2006).

Boymelgreen never developed the project, and Patrick Thompson subsequently purchased the property. In November 2009, Thompson applied to BSA seeking to amend the variance. The amended proposal increased the number of apartments to 357, decreased the average apartment size from 1,437 to 787 sq.ft., and marketed the project as rentals rather than condominiums.  (read more…)

Mixed-use project with 34 market-rate apartments will replace auto parts store in Flushing. On June 29, 2011, the City Council approved Mark Solow’s rezoning proposal for three lots at the northeast corner of Northern Boulevard and Prince Street in Flushing, Queens. The approval rezoned the three lots from  M1-1 to R6 with a C2-2 commercial overlay. Solow requested the rezoning in order to redevelop his property at 135-05 Northern Boulevard. The site is occupied by the Crown Auto Parts store, which Solow plans to demolish and replace with a 52,570 sq.ft. mixed-use building.

Solow’s seven-story project will include 34 market-rate apartments, 7,100 sq.ft. of ground floor retail space, 9,560 sq.ft. of community facility space on the second floor, and a 62-space underground parking facility. The project will also include 3,000 sq.ft. of landscaped outdoor space on the roof of the extended second floor. The area to the west of the project site is zoned M1-1 and developed with low-rise commercial buildings and warehouses. To the east, the area is zoned R6/C2-2 and is developed with a mix of residential, commercial, and community facility space.

No one opposed the project at the City Planning Commission’s hearing on May 25, and the Commission unanimously approved the proposal. The Commission noted that that it recently approved an eleven-story mixed-use project to the north of the site, and that the BSA in 2005 approved a seventeen-story residential building nearby at 135-35 Northern Boulevard. 8 CityLand 74 (June 15, 2011). (read more…)

Developer gets variance to build a 200-unit, mixed-use development on site occupied by historic theater. Boymelgreen Developers, owner of two lots located at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Main Street in Flushing, Queens, totaling 41,880 square feet, sought to construct a 200-unit, seventeen- story, mixed-use building with accessory parking. The building will be constructed on two currently improved lots. The first lot contains a two-story commercial building that will be demolished. The second lot contains the RKO Keith Flushing Theater, which is home to an interior landmark.

Boymelgreen argued that several unique features of the site created an unnecessary hardship. The limited street frontage along Northern Boulevard, much of which is occupied by the theater, required the residential tower to be built above the theater. Boymelgreen also argued that restoration and protection of the theater during construction would be costly and time consuming. According to Boymelgreen, bringing the theater up to modern standards was infeasible because it would require an increased incline on the ground floor for stadium seating and a rebuilt balcony. Among other waivers requested, Boymelgreen sought to increase the allowable residential FAR for from 2.43 to 6.86 and the mixed-use FAR from 4.8 to 7.5. (read more…)