Photo: QueensPost
Dec.9, 2013 By Christian Murray
Dime Saving bank vacated the building on the corner of Queens Blvd and 43rd Street on Saturday—thereby raising further questions as to what the owner plans to do with the property.
With Dime gone, the property has three remaining tenants: Center Cinemas, PJ Horgans and a local dentist.
Center Cinemas is the most vulnerable business at this point since its lease ends December 2014. PJ Horgan’s lease doesn’t end until June 30, 2018, while the dentist has the option in 2014 to renew his lease for another five years. The terms of that renewal are not known.
Rudy Prashad, the owner of Center Cinemas, has been trying to renew his lease for months—in order to make plans. The landlord/management company, he said, finally told him they would discuss it in January.
Prashad is not sure what the owner plans to do with the property. Meanwhile, the owner of the property could not be reached for comment. However, the property manager Michael Christopher said that it is private matter and didn’t want to comment further.
The property was sold by Dime Savings bank for $6.675 million Dec. 20, 2012, to “42-25 Queens Blvd. Corporation,” a firm run out of Astoria.
At the time, a representative for the owner, said “We have no plans at this point for the property” and have “not decided what to do with it.”
However, local real estate agents expect the new owner to develop the site and build residential units. The annual operating income from the property while Dime was a tenant was $326,000, barely enough to cover the debt servicing on the property. Dime paid close to $195,000 per year in rent.
Furthermore, given the size of the lot (16,300sqf) and the recent up-zoning, a developer is able to build a structure with a maximum floor area of 68,424sqf. The current building only has a floor area of 16,080 sqf.
Meanwhile, the owner of the cinemas, who has plans to make a number of costly improvements, is not sure whether to go through with them or not. “I just need to know where I stand,” Prashad said.
