Flushing Commons project to be certified

Queens Courier - After nearly two years on the sideline, one of the biggest development projects in Queens is on the verge of taking a crucial step forward.

The Queens Courier has learned that Flushing Commons, a more than 1 million square foot, mixed-use development project at the site of the Municipal Lot 1 in downtown Flushing, will be certified by the Department of City Planning (DCP) on Monday, January 25, kicking off the seven-month Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

“After a great deal of work in recent months to ensure that the Flushing Commons development plan will be an unqualified success and a positive addition to the Flushing community, we are excited and proud to be beginning the land use review process on January 25,” said Jamie Van Bramer, a spokesperson for Flushing Commons – a partnership of TDC Development and the Rockefeller Group.

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City to pursue public approval of Flushing Commons

The city said it will move ahead with plans to redevelop Flushing’s municipal lot by the end of the year, raising hopes for the revival of a project considered by many to be dead in the water since it was announced by the mayor in 2005.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Lieber told Flushing leaders last Thursday that the city is committed to dusting off and starting the public approval process on its Flushing Commons project, an announcement that caught several in the room, most notably City Councilman John Liu (D−Flushing), by surprise.

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Muss lands huge BJ's Wholesale Club lease

Send in the big boxes. Members-only warehouse-style retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. just signed on for 121,000 square feet at Muss Development’s sprawling shopping center at Sky View Parc on College Point Boulevard in Flushing, Queens. The asking rent for the 20-year ground-floor deal was not disclosed, but real estate sources say asking rents in the area are typically around $40 a square foot.

The store is expected to open by November. It will join other large retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and Target, at the 800,000-square-foot center. Chain restaurant Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar also recently signed on to lease 6,500 square feet at the shopping center, where the eatery plans to open in the spring of next year. The center is now 70% leased.

“BJ’s is going to be a big generator of retail traffic,” said Dave Brickman, vice president of development at Muss Development. “Customers coming to shop there will overflow to our other retailers.”

More than 750,000 would-be shoppers live within three miles of the project, which will include six towers—with a total of 1,100 residential condominiums, 140 of which have already been sold—and a rooftop park.

John Hanlon of Ripco Real Estate Corp. negotiated the BJ’s and Applebee’s transactions on behalf of Muss Development. The tenants were represented by their in-house teams.

At a time when many retailers are scaling back, BJ’s is aggressively expanding in the New York area. The Natick, Mass.-based club recently signed for a site in Canarsie, Brooklyn, that was formerly leased to Home Depot and is also planning outposts in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and Pelham Manor, Westchester. In March, BJ’s posted an 8.5% jump in same-store sales of merchandise, compared with the year-earlier period, while rival Costco’s same-store sales declined 2%.

Property Details

• Tenant name: BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc.
• Street address: 40-28 College Point Blvd.
• Square feet: 121,000
• Asking rent: $40 per sq ft.
• Lease length: 20 years
• Market: Flushing
• Submarket: 0
• Borough: Queens
• Brokerage firm: Ripco Real Estate Corp.
• Landlord broker: John Hanlon

Crain's New York.

A Star is Born - Susan Boyle

The full version of the Susan Boyle Video

Leap to Track. Rescue Man. Clamber Up. Catch a Train.

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times - Chad Lindsey, 33, near the subway tracks where he lifted an injured man to safety as a train approached on Monday. Then he went on his way.

Nice to report a story like this.

Subway heroes, as they are inevitably tagged even before the grease from the tracks is rubbed off, come along every now and then — indeed, as the story of Chad Lindsey suggests, perhaps more often than we know.

Minutes after rescuing a man who had fallen onto the subway tracks at the Penn Station stop on Monday, Mr. Lindsey managed to melt back into the anonymity of the city, escaping the notice of the police, paramedics and subway workers.

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The Reverse Gear

Reverse mortgages can save the day for many older people.

GETTING credit is no simple task these days, even under the best of circumstances — just ask anyone who has applied for a mortgage. But it can be even more problematic for those who are retired, with many facing the triple whammy of declining income, falling home values and dwindling savings from Wall Street’s meltdown.

Looking for a way around the continuing credit crunch, more older people are exploring reverse mortgages, which allow homeowners 62 or older to borrow against their equity. With reverse mortgages, lenders and brokers generally don’t consider credit history. Instead, they look at the applicant’s age, any existing mortgage and the home’s value.

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Image from the New York Times.

New York Landlords Fight as Rent Refunds Loom

Looks like alot of renters may be getting money back.

The real estate industry in New York City is mobilizing with an intensity not seen in years as it faces an almost unheard-of possibility: a court order that it may have to return hundreds of millions of dollars in rent.

The state appeals court decision bars New York City landlords from deregulating apartment rents while receiving a popular tax break meant to encourage building renovations. Industry officials say the decision could affect as many as 80,000 apartments in the city, trigger widespread defaults on loans, eliminate construction jobs and reduce property tax revenues for the city.

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Image from the NY Times.