Multi-Plex Not Part Of Old Macys Future

The renovation of the former Macys (later Sterns) store on Queens Boulevard will be renamed "Queens Place."
The developers, Forest City Ratner, describe their new development in promotional material, as a site which will "come alive again with a broad array of national retailers, fine family dining and more on-site parking than ever."
One aspect of the new re-development of the building will be the inclusion of a large two story circular addition on the top of the current structure. This was rumored to be the addition of a multi-plex movie theater complex that had angered many in the Elmhurst area fearing additional traffic problems in one of the busiest commercial-residential sections of the borough.
Over the past two years, proposals have been rumored about a giant mega-plex on the site of the Georgia Diner, directly opposite the old Macys-Sterns structure. In addition, plans have been made to demolish the old Elmwood Theater to make way for a parking facility for nearby St. Johns Hospital. In exchange, SONY theaters would have the right to erect a major multi-screen theater on the smaller municipal parking field behind the Queens Center Mall.
Residents and local public officials feared that this possibility of three major theaters, a new mall at the old Macys site and the expansion of the Queens Center Mall would overrun an already busy area of the community.
The Queens Courier has learned, however, that at a meeting this week of the Queens Borough Presidents Task Force on the future development of this Elmhurst-Queens Blvd. area that there will be no multi-plex theater either at the old Macys site or at the site of the Georgia Diner.
The only theater complex will be located on the site of the expanded Queens Center Mall. The old Elmwood theater will be demolished. The new "Queens Place," which will open in the spring of 2001, will have retail and restaurant facilities only, according to sources.