Flushing is staring down a major potential shakeup: a 10-story, 296-unit mixed-use complex that could bring hundreds of new neighbors, a chunk of affordable housing and a wall of fresh storefronts to a busy corner of the neighborhood.
The proposal, laid out in a rezoning application now in front of city planners, calls for roughly 33,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space, close to 200 parking spots and, by the developer’s math, about 25 percent of the apartments reserved as affordable units.
As reported by The Real Deal, developer Gary Chen has applied to the New York City Department of City Planning for zoning changes covering a block bounded by 32nd Avenue, Linden Place and Farrington Street. In his filing, Chen pitches the plan as a way to bolster the surrounding blocks, add housing and create jobs at a site with solid transit access.
What’s Being Proposed
The application, submitted through an entity listed as Vernon 298 LLC, sketches out a 10-story building with 296 apartments stacked above about 33,000 square feet of retail or other commercial space. Attorney Richard Lobel of Sheldon Lobel PC is named as the applicant’s representative.
The paperwork estimates roughly 75 apartments would be permanently affordable, which works out to around 25 percent of the total unit count, according to PincusCo.
Site Footprint and Past Purchases
According to The Real Deal, the project would knit together the 32-02 Linden Place lot with at least one additional Linden Place property plus two industrial buildings on Farrington Street. That coverage notes Chen wrapped up the assemblage last year at an estimated cost of about $26.5 million, consolidating several former industrial parcels under one owner.
What Happens Next
Because the plan hinges on a zoning change, it has to run the usual procedural gauntlet. First up is the Department of City Planning’s internal review and potential certification, followed by the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, better known as ULURP.
That process includes an environmental review, public notice, community board hearings, advisory votes and, ultimately, a decision by the City Council. City guidance notes that ULURP typically rolls out over several months with multiple opportunities for public comment; the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development provides an overview of how that review works.
Local Context
The Flushing bid lands at a time when development in Queens is anything but sleepy. Recent filings in the borough include a two-building, 108-unit proposal in Kew Gardens and a 26-unit project in Ditmars Steinway, part of a steady pipeline of new housing on the drawing board.
Those projects, along with Chen’s rezoning push in Flushing, have been showing up in the permit and development feeds monitored by industry outlets such as PincusCo. Taken together, they hint at significant potential changes for housing and retail in several Queens neighborhoods, provided the plans clear the city’s land use reviews.
For now, Chen’s application sits with city planners in the pre-certification and environmental review phase. If it gets certified, the proposal will head into formal public review and hearings, giving nearby residents and local elected officials a say as the ULURP process starts to play out.
