A rendering of the 17-story mixed-use residential development to be constructed at the former site
of the landmark RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing. Courtesy of Madison Capital Realty
Developers get $30 million loan to build
17-story residential tower at RKO site
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A new 17-story mixed-use
residential development is
coming soon at the former site
of the landmark RKO Keith’s
Theater in Flushing.
The developer, Xinyuan
Real Estate (XIN), will proceed
with its plans to build the
condominium after receiving
a $30 million financing loan
from Madison Capital Realty
(MRC), a New York City-based
real estate private equity
firm. “This well-capitalized
sponsor has done a fantastic
job assembling and planning
this shovel-ready site and
the deal was particularly
attractive at a less than $100
per square foot loan basis
and less than 50 percent
of cost,” said Josh Zegen,
co-founder and managing
principal of MRC. “MRC
continues to finance highquality
real estate projects
and we are confident this will
be a standout property in the
Flushing submarket, which is
growing rapidly and stands
to benefit from a very healthy
development pipeline.”
The 269-unit condo will
feature 17,000 square feet
of retail space across the
property’s first and second
floors, 15,000 square feet of
community space across the
third floor, and 305 parking
spaces at 135-35 Northern
Blvd, where the RKO Keith’s
Theater currently sits vacant.
The property has received
press attention as a rare, onetime,
former lavish movie
theater. In April, The New
York Times reported that
although it was closed in 1986
and deteriorating, 4,000 people
signed a petition to restore
and preserve the historic
theater. The Landmarks
Preservation Commission had
only designated three areas
inside the theater: the lobby,
grand foyer and ticket booth.
The developer plans to
include restored interior
portions of the landmarked
former theater.
Marcus and Millichap
Capital Corp. (MMCC), a
leading provider of commercial
real estate financing and
capital markets expertise,
had arranged for $30 million
in refinancing for the former
theater, according to Senior
Vice President and MMCC
National Director Richard
Katzenstein. The refinancing
was led by Gary Sefcik, one
of the firm’s New York office,
with a team including Rick
Lechtman and Dan Lisser.
“We utilized Madison
Realty Capital in the private
non-recourse market which
offers much more flexible
capital than bank financing,”
said Sefcik, regarding
the lender.
XIN, the owner of the site
since August 2016, chose to
refinance and cash out on
equity on the unencumbered
land in order to optimize its
capital structure prior to
commencing the development
of the site, which is entitled
for an approximately
350,000 SF project.
The roughly 42,000-squarefoot
development site allows
for a total zoning floor area
well over 300,000 square feet.
Xin plans to complete the
demolition of the existing twostory
structure surrounding
the theater by February 2020
and commence construction
shortly thereafter.
The property is one
of the most high-profile
development sites in
Flushing and all of Queens.
Development of the site had
been historically held back
due to complexities presented
by its landmark status,
particularly on the existing
structure’s interior. However,
the Landmark Preservation
Commission approvals have
been obtained.
The site is currently
approved for a retail and
condominium project,
though the developer is
currently weighing several
options to further improve
the business plan to meet
the current demands of the
Flushing market.
According to Sefcik,
the transaction and
future development of
the site represents a
significant evolution in the
approach typically taken
by Chinese developers
which have historically
joint- ventured with local
New York developers.
Xinyuan will execute on
the RKO site with its own
team consisting of staff from
headquarters and local New
York real estate veterans in
addition to third party project
manager, Kuafu Properties, a
fellow Chinese firm.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by email at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–4526.
MoMath winners
Bayside students crunch numbers,
earn top honors at state tourney
From left: Mikayla Lin, John Gupta-She, Mark Park, Emma Sudo,
Lawrence Joa Photo courtesy of M.S. 158
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A group of Bayside middleschoolers
flexed their skills
and won first place at a
statewide math competition
last week.
Seventh-grader Mikayla
Lin and eighth-graders John
Gupta-She, Mark Park, Emma
Sudo and Lawrence Joa from
M.S. 158 Marie Curie competed
in and won in the 2019
“Tournament of Champions”
on Wednesday, May 15, at
the National Museum of
Mathematics (MoMath).
The competition was the
final installment in a statewide
series of “MoMathlon” math
tournaments. The winning
teams from each of the
competitions faced off for
the championship title in
New York state.
According to their
moderator and M.S. 158 math
teacher Freddy Sampson, the
group competed against other
qualifying middle-schoolers
from New York state. The
Tournament of Champions
consisted of four rounds: an
individual round, a “mix up
round,” where students had
to work with members from
other teams, a team round and
a relay round.
Sampson recruited some
of the best performing math
students to be part of the team
and got them together on
Fridays to train for this and
seven other math competitions
throughout the school year.
“We are very proud and
excited for our students. Most
of them are eighth-graders,
so we’re sad to see them go,”
said Sampson.
The team of students
qualified for this competition
back in March when they
placed first in the Queens
and Brooklyn tournament in
March. Lin also won first place
in the sixth- and seventh-grade
competition, while Gupta-She
earned a third place spot in
the eighth-grade competition.
Some of the other math
competitions in which M.S.
158 students have participated
include the MATHCOUNTS
Competition, PI5NY
and MATHCON.
Sampson said that these
types of competitions are
beneficial for students to
be exposed to math in “fun
and exciting ways” that they
may not encounter in the
classroom. He added that
students tend to continue
competing at the high school
level, while others pursue
math-adjacent interests
like robotics.
“It’s the same level of
questions that they see on the
SAT. One student scored a 700
in the math portion in sixth
grade,” said Sampson.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
224-5863 ext. 214.
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM MAY 24-30, 2019 3
/TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM
/qns.com
link
link