Advertorial
Beaudoin Realty Group
can help you navigate a
transforming Jackson Heights
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Jackson Heights has always been
a beautiful, historic neighborhood in
Queens. If you’re looking to buy something
in Jackson Heights, you’re going
to need someone who can help you
navigate the town with ease, like Michele
Beaudoin of Beaudoin Realty Group Inc.
Born and raised in Jackson Heights,
Beaudoin remembers riding her bike
around as a kid, getting to know the
neighborhood. She graduated from the
Pratt Institute in 1983 and worked as
an interior designer. She started to sell
real estate in 1985, and after spending
time living in Manhattan, Stamford,
CT, and Puerto Rico, she found her
way back to Jackson Heights in 1996
and eventually founded the Beaudoin
Realty Group.
Having spent a lot of time in Jackson
Heights, Beaudoin has seen how Jackson
Heights has changed over the years.
“Jackson Heights was a planned
community and it began to get developed
in 1916 with the arrival of the
Flushing line,” Beaudoin said. “The
community was originally planned for
upper- and middle-class income.”
However, Beaudoin noted that during
the 1960s, due to Nixon’s Urban
Planning, the country saw a change
in immigration laws, which resulted in
Jackson Heights becoming more diverse.
Mixed- and low-income housing
residents began to live side by side with
those in the upper and middle classes.
42 FEBRuary 2017 i LIC COURIER i www.qns.com
“It’s one of the most diverse neighborhoods
in the world, or at the least in
America,” Beaudoin said. “It’s the original
co-op community, mostly made up of
historic property. However, it is seeing
more development on the outskirts of
the historic district.”
There are more than 2,200 historic
buildings in Jackson Heights, with 200+
original apartment buildings still in existence.
These days, larger apartments
in the historic district (two bedrooms,
two bathrooms and up) can cost you
$500 to $600 per square foot. Smaller
apartments will cost a buyer $400 per
square foot, due to the lower ceilings and
smaller room sizes. However, the growth
in co-op conversions is causing buyers to
pay more for an upgraded living space.
“The conversions, such as the one
happening at Washington Plaza, are
having people pay up for a co-op in
Jackson Heights because of the quality,”
Beaudoin said. “These new co-ops have
that attention to detail and high ceilings,
which is very appealing to buyers.”
So, what does the future have in
store for Jackson Heights? We can
expect more developments in the area,
she said.
“A large development is coming south
of the historic district at 40-31 82nd St.,”
said Beaudoin. “It’s a 160,000-squarefoot
project that is being developed by
Hefkel Group and Sun Equity Partners.
Elias Hefkel is a Queens developer
who developed most of Austin Street
in Jackson Heights.”
