By Stephen Stirling
Though preoccupied by the enormously controversial vote on the Willets Point redevelopment plan last week, Community Board 7 quietly approved a rezoning that would allow for the development of 15 acres of waterfront property in Whitestone.
The board unanimously approved plans that would rezone 15 acres of land at 151-45 Sixth Road along Whitestone's north shore from a manufacturing district to residential zoning, which would clear the way for a $100 million to $200 million project that could see the construction of dozens of single family apartments and townhouses on the site.
Bayrock Group, which plans on developing the site, told board members that remediation would probably have to occur at the site, which has housed mainly auto-related industries and an asphalt factory for the last several decades.
If the rezoning is approved by the City Council, however, Bayrock hopes to turn the large waterfront property into a community of dozens of townhouses that would be priced from $900,000 to more than $2 million.
Bayrock said the site would also include more than three acres of publicly accessible open space, including a waterfront promenade that would run along the property's rocky beach.
City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) publicly spoke in support of the plan at the June 30 meeting and said the developer worked with his office and the community from the onset and developed a project that would fit well into the existing neighborhood.
“This is actually a precedent for whatever comes down the pipe,” Avella said. “They have done what every developer should do in this situation.”
Avella said the plan, if implemented, would also go a long way toward reducing truck traffic that has plagued the area.
The development plan is not the only one slated for Whitestone's northern shore.
Eastern Consolidated, a New York real estate investment firm, announced early this year that it was marketing 6.5 acres of undeveloped residential land that it expects to be turned into a planned development called “Whitestone Jewels Luxury Homes.”
The development will consist of 55 newly constructed homes that will range in size from 2,500 square feet to 2,915 square feet and will be located just next door to the Bayrock development at the corner of 150th Street and Sixth Avenue.
The plan is now expected to go before Borough President Helen Marshall this Thursday, who will be holding a public hearing on the development along with a host of other land use issues at Borough Hall at 10:30 a.m.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
