A key to the future of Downtown Flushing and its development as the premier gateway to our borough rests in the building of Flushing Commons in the heart of Main Street.
The privately-funded $800 million project is planned to transform the five-acre Municipal Lot 1 site into a dynamic mixed-use, LEED-certified urban center that will include a new state-of-the-art YMCA.
In addition to approximately 620 condominiums with a mix of unit sizes, there will be up to 275,000-square-feet of retail space for national, regional and local retail shops and restaurants and 234,000-square-feet of office space, all designed around the 1.5-acre landscaped “town square” that will include outdoor cafes and seating areas.
The Flushing Commons LLC, builders are a joint venture of TDC Development & Construction Group and the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation. Having been certified by the Department of City Planning, they have entered into the seven month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and are meeting with Community Board 7 for its recommendation.
We support this project and its designers. They have addressed all the wishes of the community and have done their homework.
Parking was a major issue for local merchants and residents, and the TDC and Rockefeller groups hired parking experts to survey the lot’s current usage and project the future use, hour-by-hour and day-by-day. They asked how many spaces would make the lot the “right size.” Their experts – who surveyed over 400 people a day – came up with 1,600 spaces – 500 more than the existing lot and 900 more than required by zoning..
These spaces will be available to the public instead of to all-day, 12-hour commuters. They will price their hourly rates below market initially to lessen the impact on the local residents and merchants. The area parking lots charge an average of $3.45 for an hour to $9 for 2-3 hours – Flushing Commons will charge $2.39 an hour to $4.78 for 2-3 hours.
Additionally, the merchants will be able to offer parking validation programs to grant free or discounted parking at their discretion to select customers.
The project benefits all of Queens and must be approved and passed onto the Borough President for her approval as quickly as possible. Enough time has been wasted – approve it.
