Luxury condo opens in Forest Hills

Developers for Novo 64, a new luxury condominium building in Forest Hills, rolled out the red carpet, literally. On Thursday, September 6, organizers threw a lavish bash at the sales office on Austin Street.
“We felt we needed to have a formal opening for the sales office,” said Sha Dinour, President Triumph Property Group.
The soiree, featuring three feature- and flower-palmed dancers, drew both Queens residents and Manhattanites, eager to catch a glimpse of the building’s styling and design.
“[The design plans] look beautiful,” said Forest Hills resident Natalie Basiuk as she and a friend noshed by a huge shower. “They are certainly worth investigating … something that I’d definitely be interested in.”
“I think of Forest Hills as competitive with Manhattan but the price is better,” said Manhattan native Barbara Rossi, who said she has been tempted to cross the East River “far too many times.”
“This is like a Manhattan sales party,” said Kew Gardens resident Kanessa Tixe, a public relations person for Quinn & Co. in Manhattan. “This is definitely big news in the area.”
“Many of the older buildings don’t have these amenities,” she added.
Currently, prospective residents can choose from 53 layouts and hundreds of interior designs. However, the array of options is only for a limited time because developers will need to finalize plans for the building’s 93 units soon, Dinour said.
Apartments range from studios to three-bedrooms, but terraced penthouses and three-floor townhouses with private entrances can also be created. Studios are going cost nearly $400,000, one bedrooms between $400,000 and $450,000, two bedrooms $640,000, and three bedrooms nearly $900,000. Currently, the top-priced apartment is a 2,500-square-foot, three-bedroom penthouse with two terraces and views of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The asking price is $1.45 million, said Sales Director Gigi Pierre.
David Marom, founder of the Horizon Group, said he expects the building at 64-05 Yellowstone Boulevard to open by the end of 2008.
“In New York City, when you go into buying property and building, it’s a much easier and faster process,” Marom said, comparing the five boroughs to Westchester and Long Island.
So far 25 percent of the apartments have been sold, and after the opening, brokers were invited to sell units as well.
“It’s going very fast and we are very excited,” Dinour said, “What we are finding is that it’s a lot of real people, who appreciate quality of life, quality of housing, and proximity to the city.”
Many of the new residents are from Manhattan, and Dinour imagined a couple, one person working on Wall Street and the other in Long Island.
“This is the perfect meeting point for them,” he said, explaining that the building will be created with parking spaces for commuters who don’t take advantage of the accessible Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and subway.
In addition, Novo 64 has already attracted a number of families, who were drawn to the area.
“It’s an amazing place to raise kids,” Dinour said.
One of the biggest differences between the development and past projects is location.
Traditionally developments are often built in neighborhoods that are up and coming but lacking community resources, Dinour said. However, Forest Hills already has an established community and infrastructure.
“Look at Austin Street,” he said, “It could be any street in Manhattan.”
For more information, call the Novo 64 sales office, located at 70-39 Austin Street, at 718-896-6464.