Employees at a Bayside Burger King restaurant were taken by surprise on Tuesday when they learned that the site was set to be developed into nearly 40,000 feet of new retail space.
The franchise — located at 222-10 Northern Blvd. — is in a spot currently being marketed online by retail leasing firm RKF as the site of a new development.
RKF Executive Vice President David Rosenberg and Associate Eddie Mamiye are marketing the opportunity on behalf of the property’s current owner, who will redevelop the site upon the expiration of Burger King’s lease.
Rosenberg said it was an excellent opportunity to redevelop a long-owned property into a higher-caliber use to meet a growing demand for retail space and that the firm was looking for national and regional brands to fill the new space.
“Bayside is a high-density neighborhood and a well-established trade area with strong traffic from residents, students and commuters,” said Rosenberg. “This new development will be ideally suited for restaurants, grocers, health and fitness studios, furniture, home furnishings and sporting goods retailers.”
RKF lists spring 2018 as the date of “possession” at the site, or projected move-in date for potential retail tenants.
The company was unable to immediately provide a tentative timeline for when construction would begin on the new development.
A Burger King employee who identified herself as Maria told The Courier over the phone that, while she believed the lease may be coming to an end, she was under the impression that the landlord was planning to renew the contract.
A team leader at the Northern Boulevard location, who declined to give her name, said that the team of workers had not been told about the possibility of the store closing.
“They should tell us, especially the people who have been working here a long time,” the employee said. She claimed to have been a Burger King employee for about five years.
Though the land is slated for redevelopment, the Burger King restaurant is expected to resume business once the plaza reopens, according to a representative of Burger King’s corporate office.
According to RKF, the new multi-level retail development will include 12,014 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, 11,700 square feet on the second floor, 11,013 square feet on the third floor and 4,893 square feet in a lower level.
The project will also include 220 parking spaces that correspond to each of the retail levels.
