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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com NOVEMBER 13, 2014 • REAL ESTATE • THE COURIER SUN 29 ▶ real estate Katz denies proposed Ridgewood apartments in industrial zone BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com @liamlaguerre Ridgewood residents concerned about the growing loss of industrial space scored a major victory when Borough President Melinda Katz rejected a variance for a three-story residential building with a penthouse on land zoned for manufacturing. The decision comes after Councilman Antonio Reynoso and Community Board 5 opposed the project, which would be located at 1506 Decatur St., also known as 11-01 Irving Ave. “Even though the applicant’s site is narrow and small, some manufacturing businesses may be able to utilize the space due to technological advances in recent years. They can operate and Broker Of The Week Harold VALESTIN La Guerre: Why are people now noticing how cool Queens is? Valestin: I think for a couple of reasons. One, definitely affordability. You can get a home for a lot less than you would pay in Manhattan, and then also there’s a new vibe about Queens. It’s starting to get its own buzz. Queens is the most multicultural, diverse borough in the city, if not the most diverse county in the country. In one borough you have dozens if not more than 100 different countries represented. La Guerre: Queens has diversity, history and low land prices. What do you think is the most attractive feature of Queens to developers? Valestin: The reason developers are coming to Queens is more of a price thing. The land in Queens is much less expensive than it is in the city and Brooklyn. And now that they know there are buyers and renters willing to come to Queens, it is logical for them to come here. Not only is the land less expensive, but now they have a market for the things that they build. La Guerre: The real estate boom in LIC and Astoria is creating rising land prices like never before in Queens. How high will it go? Valestin: Probably they’ll still creep up a little bit, but there’s going to be a point where it doesn’t make financial sense anymore. So then that’s going to push back the land prices. I think for Queens there is still a little bit more room for land prices, but I think within the year you’re going to start seeing the stabilization of land prices. La Guerre: You mean by the end of this year or within next year? Valestin: Within 12 months. La Guerre: Do you see development booms coming to other areas in Queens besides LIC and Astoria? Valestin: Obviously when you are talking about development, developers are looking for the highest return on their investment and they are going to go for the places that are most sought after by the customer, and those places were Long Island City, Astoria, Flushing and to an extent Forest Hills. From a traditional house perspective Bayside and Douglaston are very high on that list. If you are talking about the rental or condo market the previous neighborhoods I mentioned would be the ones that are the sexiest to builders. La Guerre: What about an area like Jamaica? Valestin: Actually, Jamaica is about to see a major influx of new buildings, particularly around the LIRR Sutphin Boulevard station. There is a tremendous amount of talk exploring residential and contextual buildings over there. So that area of Jamaica is going to see a mini boom itself. Veteran broker Harold Valestin left MNS Real Estate for Nest Seekers International. In Valestin’s new role as director of development marketing and sales, he will expand the firm’s relationship with developers and market existing properties. Valestin started at MNS in 2005 when the company was called The Developers Group. He has sold for 12 years in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn and rose to vice president with MNS. Raised in Queens, Valestin is a graduate of St. Francis Prep. He is married with three kids. He sat down with Real Estate editor Liam La Guerre. function cleanly and more efficiently using a smaller footprint,” Katz said in her decision. The site is a 2,258-square-foot vacant lot that once had a residential building that was demolished in 1971, according to Katz. 11-01 Irving Ave LLC, which submitted the proposal for the project, purchased the land in 2013 for $180,000, according to city records, more than double its trading price in 2005 ($81,000). In her decision, Katz said the loss of Queens manufacturing businesses over the past decades meant many parcels of land were being redeveloped for other uses, but some should be preserved for the future of the industry. The proposal will now go to the Board of Standard and Appeals, which has the final say on the plan. Photo courtesy of Nicholas Strini/PropertyShark Photo courtesy of Nicholas Strini/PropertyShark Photo courtesy of Massey Knakal BROKERQ&A Massive development site near Queens Place mall sells for $26M A large parking lot behind Queens Place mall in Elmhurst sold for $26.5 million, according to property records filed this week. The lot, located at 88-18 Justice Ave., has about 227,352 square feet of buildable space, according to Massey Knakal, which listed the parcel of land in March, as The Courier reported. Justice Ave Tower LLC bought the property from 86-55 Queens Blvd. Corp., according to city records. There have been no plans submitted for the site with the Department of Buildings as of yet. THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata NY Sun Club tanning salon to replace Beach Bum Tanning When the door of one tanning salon closes, another one will open. After the closure of Beach Bum Tanning on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach, signs were recently put up for NY Sun Club Tanning and Airbrush. The new tanning salon at 156- 40C Cross Bay Blvd. plans to open in the next three weeks, according to an owner of the property, who didn’t clarify why Beach Bum left the location. But either way, those looking for tans won’t have to look far away. - BY LIAM LA GUERRE


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