After a decade as an eyesore, the site of the former Caldor clothing store on Main Street in the heart of Downtown Flushing is under construction to be a three-story shopping mall.
Developers are reportedly aiming for a September grand opening for the “New
World Mall” at the site, at 136-20 Roosevelt Avenue.
Contractors began filing permits last August and as of Friday, April 30, more than 15 applications have been filed with the city’s Department of Buildings, with the work estimated to cost over $3 million thus far.
“I’m very happy to find out that this terrible eyesore in Downtown Flushing is being renovated,” said former Borough President Claire Shulman, Chair of the Flushing, Willets Point, Corona Local Development Corporation.
Reports say that the mall will include upscale retailers on the first floor, a supermarket on the second and restaurant on the third floor.
Community Board (CB) 7 chair Eugene Kelty is concerned.
“They came before the board more than 10 years ago to talk about development – then nothing. Now, after we’re starting on Flushing Commons and a new traffic pattern for the Downtown area, they start this project without a word.”
Likewise, Shulman said she was taken by surprise. “We’ve written [Vornado Real Estate Investment Trust, the owner of the building] many times and gotten no response. But I’m thrilled – it’s better than having it the way it was.”
Kelty explained that CB7 and the city’s Department of Transportation have been working on a plan to reroute buses and make certain streets one way, in an attempt to improve both traffic but quality of life in the Downtown business hub.
“Having people coming and going from their parking entrance on Main Street is going to skew traffic, after we’ve been studying it all this time,” Kelty complained. “I hope they decide to work with us in the future.”
