$850M Project Ready to Break Ground in Queens

Two new projects are preparing to break ground in Downtown Flushing. The $850 million Flushing Commons and Macedonia Plaza projects will help to revitalize the Borough of Queens, creating about 2,600 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs.The mixed-use development will include condominiums, a town square with a fountain, a YMCA, community center, as well as retail and office space with parking. 

The $850 million Flushing Commons project will transform what is now the 5.5-acre, city-owned Municipal Parking Lot #1, into a mixed-use development including 620 new residential condominiums, a 1.5-acre town square of open space with a fountain plaza, 1,600 parking spaces, a 62,000-sq-ft, state-of-the-art YMCA, 36,000 sq ft of community space, up to 275,000 sq ft of retail space and up to 234,000 sq ft of office and/or hotel space. The project is seeking to achieve LEED certification.

Flushing Commons is a joint venture of Rockefeller Group Development of New York, TDC Development Corporation, a local Flushing developer and Architect, Perkins Eastman of New York. The project was selected as a result of a Request for Proposals issued by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, based on recommendations made by the Development Framework for Downtown Flushing. The Development Framework is a year-long, community-based, planning effort undertaken by the Downtown Flushing Task Force which consists of city and state agencies, local elected officials, advocacy groups, community members and local business leaders.

The second project is Macedonia Plaza - a companion project to Flushing Commons. Macedonia Plaza is a 163-unit affordable housing project being developed on a 35,000-sq-ft portion of the municipal parking lot site by Macedonian Community Development Corporation, an extension of the Macedonia AME Church. The project will also contain 7,500 sq ft of ground floor retail, 5,900 sq ft of community space and 19,000 sq ft of open public space.

Construction fences are now going up in Municipal Lot 1 to make way for the $40 million Macedonia building, with an occupancy date slated for early 2014.