The Forest Hills Jewish Center at 106-06 Queens Blvd. is on the market for a price of $50,000,000.
B6 Real Estate Advisors (B6), an investment sales and capital advisory brokerage led by industry veteran Paul Massey, Jr. is the exclusive sales team for the sale of the Forest Hills Jewish Center.
In a statement to QNS, a representative from the center said the synagogue has been engaged for many years in a re-building project to provide them with a new building for the next 70 years, just the way their predecessors provided them with the current building in 1950, that is now old and no longer serves the needs of its current community in 2020.
“This process has engaged our board of trustees, our officers, a building committee and of course our membership,” the representative said. “The sale of the property will enable us to build a facility that will continue to uphold our traditions of providing the highest quality programs and services to our membership and the Forest Hills community at large.”
The Forest Hills Jewish Center is a traditional, egalitarian conservative congregation, affiliated with the United Synagogue and the Jewish Theological Seminary. With a membership in excess of 600 families, the center provides a full range of offerings including daily minyanim, nursery, Jewish education (including high school), youth programs and senior programs.
“FHJC is still a strong and vibrant institution with a large and committed membership,” the representative said. “Religious services, Nursery and Religious School Senior Center, and adult education will continue in our new, future home, which will be situated either on or close by our current location. We are committed to the continuity of our programs and services without pause or interruption.”
Thomas Donovan, partner and vice chairman at B6, said the site provides developers with a unique opportunity in size, scale and location, within a neighborhood often referred to as one of the best places to live in New York.
“This transaction will continue the recent trend of new mixed-use and multifamily building development in the immediate vicinity,” Donovan said.
The property encompasses the entire block front on the east side of 69th Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street. The lot is over 36,000 square feet and is currently improved by the Forest Hills Jewish Center, a four-story, 68,000-square-foot religious/educational facility.
Situated within a C4-5X, FH (R7X equivalent) zoning district as well as a Qualified Opportunity Zone, the property offers a maximum of 180,000 BSF for mixed-use development. The center is located just two blocks from the Forest Hills-71st Avenue (E,F,M,R) subway station and three blocks from the Forest Hills Long Island Railroad station.
The property features 534 feet of combined wraparound frontage along three streets, including prime frontage along Austin Street, one of the borough’s most desirable retail corridors. It also sits directly across from MacDonald Park, which acts as a buffer between the property and Queens Boulevard.
There are approximately 1,200 residential units and 1.5 million square feet either planned or under construction within roughly one mile of the subject property, according to B6.
The team at B6 handling the listing consists of Thomas Donovan, Tommy Lin, Eugene Kim, Paul Massey and Zachary Redding.
