A rendering of “The Sunnyside”, formerly called “QB38” at 38-01 Queens Blvd. (Courtesy of Curbcut)
Nov. 16, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez
Sunnyside will be without a movie theater no more, as Regal Cinemas has signed on to take up part of an ongoing development on Queens Boulevard.
The movie theater chain will be occupying the first two floors of the commercial tower currently under construction at 38-01 Queens Blvd.
Of the 145,000 square-feet planned for the building, developed by Curbcut Urban Partners and dubbed “The Sunnyside”, the Regal Entertainment Group will take up 38,000 square-feet of it to bring a theater to the area, according to Benjamin Malinsky, vice president of Curbcut.
The entertainment group will provide a theater to a neighborhood that hasn’t seen one since the shuttering of Sunnyside Center Cinemas in 2015, which opened in the late 1940s.
The former Sunnyside Center Cinemas (Photo: Queens Post)
News of a new theater on Queens Boulevard first began to trickle earlier this year, when David Koptiev, owner of Platinum Realty and partners with Curbcut, spoke about ongoing talks to bring a major movie theater chain to the building, but did not reveal which company due to the confidential nature of the deal.
“There aren’t really any movie theaters in the Queens Boulevard corridor,” Koptiev told the Sunnyside Post earlier this year . “There’s a huge gap between Long Island City and Rego Park without a theater, so it would be a good addition to the area.”
There is no word yet on how many screening rooms will be available, a decision that will be made by Regal Entertainment Group, said Malinsky.
Just about every national movie theater chain was involved in talks with leasing the space, Malinsky added.
38-01 Queens Blvd, pre-demolition. (Photo: Queens Post)
The Sunnyside, formerly called the QB38, will be officially listed as a 12-story building due to the theater’s mezzanine levels counting as floors, Malinsky said. In all, the theater will take up the first 60 feet in length, or the chunkier base, of the building, while the slimmer, remaining portion up top will likely be taken up by medical spaces, as preferred by the developers.
“It’s basically a four-story movie theater and an eight-story building on top,” Malinsky said.
Regal Cinemas has used up a large portion of the retail space, but a 1,500 square-foot corner on 38th Street and Queens Boulevard has yet to be leased, and may be taken up by a national food chain. About four to five companies are involved in talks with the developers about occupying the space.
The building, which also includes enclosed parking for about 100 cars and outdoor terraces, began construction this summer, and is expected to open around mid to late 2019.
The news was first reported by the Commercial Observer.
