City will convey waterfront property to Kristal Auto Mall and an existing Toys ‘R’ Us retail store on Flatbush Avenue. On May 15, 2012, the City Council approved the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to facilitate the relocation of Kristal Auto Mall to a site on Flatbush Avenue abutting Mill Basin in Brooklyn. The City-owned project site is occupied by a 45,000-square-foot Toys ‘R’ Us store and a 400-space accessory parking lot used by surrounding businesses. To the south of the site is another City-owned parcel consisting of 400,000 sq.ft. of undeveloped land abutting Four Sparrow Marsh. The proposal called for, among other things, disposing of nearly 240,000 sq.ft. of City-owned property, demapping an unimproved strip of Flatbush Avenue, and rezoning the project site from C3 to C8-1.
Under the plan, Kristal Auto Mall will purchase a 110,000-square-foot portion of the parking lot in order to move from its current location at 5200 Kings Highway. Kristal plans to redevelop the property with a 114,000-square-foot facility housing a showroom, offices, and a service facility. A second 4,000-square-foot building will be used for used-car sales.