FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 15, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
New development will bring aff ordable housing to Forest Hills
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Forest Hills community leaders and
developers broke ground on a new 166-
unit mixed-use development at 69-65
Yellowstone Blvd. in Forest Hills on
Wednesday, April 7, that will bring aff ordable
housing, jobs and economic activity
to support Queens and the surrounding
community.
Th e new development, a project of
Slate Property Group and Grobman-
Gross Properties, will feature 50 aff ordable
apartments and 186 parking spaces
that will span 210,000 square feet, while
the cellar and ground fl oor will include
50,000 square feet of retail space. Th e
building will be constructed at the former
site of the Key Food supermarket and is
slated for completion in 2023.
Th e partnership between Grobman-
Gross and Slate Properties was brokered
by Patrick Mazza and Dan Panitz of WRC
Brokerage Inc.
“We are excited to break ground on
this exciting new project today and celebrate
the creation of 166 new apartments
and retail space in Forest Hills,” said
David Schwartz, co-founder and principal
of Slate Property Group. “Slate Property
Group is committed to supporting our
city’s recovery and tackling the housing
shortage. Th rough mixed-use projects
such as this, we are able to create new jobs,
bring resources to the community and
keep New York moving forward.”
Aufgang Architects was chosen to
design the building, which is composed of
brick and a large green vertical wall. Th e
site will also feature a large, landscaped
common outdoor recreation space on the
third fl oor, and rooft op and multiple terraces
on each fl oor for personal outdoor
space to tenants.
According to Ari Aufgang and Schwartz,
the challenge was to design a structure
that both complemented the neighborhood
and nearby historic structures, but
at the same time, add a new take on what
a mid-rise building on a major commercial
corridor could look like.
Some of the features that tenants of the
building will eventually enjoy are a living
garden that will provide relief and an ecological
aesthetic to a typically blank exterior
face of a staircase and elevator core, a
perforated brick pattern that provides an
architectural strategy for a second fl oor
of parking that’s a relief from metal grills,
according to Aufgang.
“Th e project is all electric, so that really
sets up for the future, where we can have a
more sustainable and renewable grid and
have no onsite carbon fumes,” Aufgang
said. “Working with Slate is always a great
experience. Very few developers put as
much emphasis on aff ordability and effi -
ciency. Even on the market-rate units and
a mixed-unit building, we work tirelessly
together to make sure that the rents
are the level that families from the immediate
and adjoining areas can aff ord to
move in.”
For Ira Gross, executive vice president
of Dan’s Supreme Supermarkets, the
groundbreaking ceremony was an exciting
day for both the Gross family and
the Grobman family. According to Gross,
they have been working on the project for
13 years, as the site was an old auto leasing
zone, and having gone through all
the hoops with the city to get the zoning
done.
“It took a lot of years to fi nd the right
guy. It’s very hard to fi nd a partner who
you could live with, trust for who knows
how long, and David and the Slate Group
is the right fi t, and they’ve proven to be
the right fi t for a long time,” Gross said.
“Today, we fi nally have what we think is
the right plan that’s good for everyone.
Th is is a great moment for us, and we’re
thrilled to be here, and we hope to do the
right thing all the time.”
Richard Grobman, president of Dan’s
Supreme Supermarkets, said the project
was a long time coming, and that they’re
pleased to partner with Slate to bring the
building, including much needed new
housing, to life.
“We are proud longtime partners of this
community and excited to take on this
new project to continue our support here,”
Grobman said.
Additional reporting by Gabriele
Holtermann.
Gabriele Holtermann
Slate Property Group and Grobman-Gross Properties celebrate the groundbreaking of a new mixeduse
project in Forest Hills.
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