Real Estate BY ANGELA MATUA Queens’ Kaufman Astoria Studios will expand with new stages By Somto Agwai AND Katarina Hybenova The famous Queens Kaufman Astoria Studios is growing at a fast pace. The original home to Paramount Pictures, built in the 1920s, announced that they will built two new sound stages on their campus, bringing the total number of their stages to 12. Additionally, the studio announced Thursday that they have purchased Steinway Street Theaters, known locally as UA Kaufman Astoria Cinemas. The 84,000-square-foot movie theater was purchased from Cleveland-based Forest City Realty Trust Inc. and its joint venture partner Madison International Realty LLC for $45 million. Interestingly, the movie theater, which opened in 1999, was originally developed by Forest City on land it acquired from Kaufman Astoria Studios. Now the property has come full circle, and Kaufman Astoria Studios owns it again. QNS has reached out to Kaufman Astoria Studios for a comment regarding their future plans with the movie theater and will update this article once it is received. Crain’s New York first reported that Kaufman Astoria’s two new stages will be located at the corner of 34th Avenue and 36th Street in Astoria. The grounds, which were purchased in 1980, are currently used as parking space for trucks, but will soon contain a building four stories high. The new stages, O and N, will be accommodated in a single building in order to accommodate one or two separate productions. Stage O will be 15,381 square feet and Stage N will be 8,673 square feet. The fourstory building will cover approximately 26,000 square feet of auxiliary production space and 45,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors, with a parking garage underground. With expectations of breaking ground in the fall of 2016, Kaufman Astoria Studios has implemented an anticipated construction plan of 18 to 24 months. Hal Rosenbluth, president and CEO of Kaufman Astoria Studios stated, “With the tremendous growth of the entertainment industry here, our stages are constantly occupied, and we’re thrilled that with the new stages we will be able to expand the number of productions that call New York home.” Many films have been shot at the historic studio, with “How to Be Single” and “Money Monster” being among the most recent. Annually, there are approximately seven television shows filmed at Kaufman Astoria. Summer hits such as “The Affair” and “Orange is the New Black” will be returning to Kaufman Stages. Earlier this year, Kaufman Astoria Studio organized a wildly popular street party where the public had a chance to meet film crews and take a sneak peek at how movies are being made. Furthermore, in July the night market Astoria Flea & Food reopens at the studios. LIC’s Blanchard Building will turn into retail space The Blanchard Building in Long Island City will get a $15 million renovation along with a beer hall and food and retail tenants. Located at 21-09 Borden Ave., the 168,000-square-foot property was purchased by Related Companies in March. It was previously owned by J.F. Blanchard, who was a manufacturer of fireproof doors and shutters, according to Forgotten NY. Joanna Rose, a spokesperson for Related Companies, indicated the renovations will include significant upgrades to the building’s aesthetics, mechanical systems and amenity packages. The company has not chosen an operator for the ground-floor beer hall or how many square feet it will be. They will also market the office spaces to food and retail vendors. Related Companies also purchased the seven-story Paragon Oils & Burners Building, located at 21-00 49th Ave., and will pour $30 million into renovations for all new windows, elevators and a penthouse roof terrace. The building was previously used as a storage facility. Patrick Sweeney, a senior vice president at Related Companies, told The New York Times that asking rent will be in the $40s and $50s per square foot. “We are transforming these ideally located buildings into premier office space and an important piece of our strategy is creating dynamic amenities for gathering, including indoor and outdoor public spaces, restaurants, shops and cafes that will be appealing to workers and residents of the community alike,” Rose said. The buildings will open in 2017 and expect the tenants to open their doors to the public then as well,” she said. Developers have increasingly been renovating large warehouses and office buildings including The Factory at 30-30 47th Ave., which is home to Madewell, Polo Ralph Lauren and Gwynnie Bee. Alma Realty, who redeveloped the former Apple Tag & Label building located at 30-30 Northern Blvd., plans to lease office space to major technology and media companies. Courtesy Jill Lotenberg
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