King-Size Lease for Queens

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Mayc’s store in Flushing, N.Y.

Crown Acquisitions has signed a 99-year ground lease at 136-62 Roosevelt Ave. in Flushing, N.Y., with The Benider Co., the largest real estate transaction in the history of the Queens neighborhood. Colliers International arranged the lease of the 250,000-square-foot property, which is currently fully occupied by Macy’s. Over the course of the 99 years, the aggregate value of the ground lease will likely exceed $1 billion.

“This transaction is a game-changer for Flushing,” said Robert Freedman, Colliers International’s co-chairman, Tri-state. “We no longer characterize Flushing as an emerging market. It has arrived.”

Over the course of the 99-year lease agreement, the aggregate value of the ground lease is expected to exceed $1 billion.

“We believe at some point in the near future the rents will be greater than what Macy’s is paying,” Isaac Chera, a Crown principal, told the Wall Street Journal. “The property is located on the 50-yard line in a booming Flushing marketplace.”

The property is situated at the terminus for the 7 train transportation hub, which also connects to the Hudson Yards as its Manhattan terminus, creating one of the most dynamic, multi-borough corridors in New York City.

“Because of the market fundamentals and the scale of the project, we were able to generate tremendous interest from institutional investors and nimble, entrepreneurial players in this redevelopment project,” Steve Chasanoff, Colliers International’s executive managing director, said in the release. “This property has incredible, long-term potential as a retail destination or for mixed-use redevelopment.”

Flushing has seen a boom in development as of late. Several mixed-use developments are in the works, which will result in hundreds of rental apartments, condos and retail space.