BY THE NUMBERS
Fracas in Flushing Compiled by Evan Bleier
Open for business
Kick-off
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens is famous for its futuristic structures left over from the two New York World’s Fairs. And the U.S. Open has been held in the park, at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, since 1978. Last month, the U.S. Tennis Association announced that it had reached an agreement with the city to acquire a 0.68-acre piece of land in Flushing Meadows to complete the $500 million expansion of the center. The proposal still needs City Council approval. (Crain’s)
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan al-Nahyan, owner of English soccer team Manchester City, is partnering with the Yankees to bring a new Major League Soccer franchise, the New York City Football Club, to the city. Plans call for the team’s new $340 million home, a 25,000-seat stadium, to occupy 13 acres in Flushing Meadows. (Capital New York)
A way for Willets
In 62-acre Willets Point, an industrial area just north of Flushing Meadows, Sterling Equities and the Related Companies are developing a 200-room hotel and a 1.4 million-square-foot entertainment complex. The project, to be located in the parking lot of the Mets’ Citi Field, is tentatively named “Willets West.” (Times Ledger)
Park protest
The trio of proposed projects has unleashed a public outcry from Queens residents and officials, who say the loss of parkland represents the city’s overall lack of regard for the borough. “You try to do this in Prospect Park in Brooklyn or in Central Park, you wouldn’t even get a foot in the door,” state Sen. Tony Avella of Bayside said last month. (Times Ledger)
Airport park
Cosmos comparison
Art Part Two Flushing Meadows
Mayor Bloomberg responded to criticism of the changes to Flushing Meadows by noting that a new park will be opened at the site of the old Flushing Airport. “On balance, there’s an enormous amount of new parkland,” he said. “But it’s not the only thing people need. A lot of people want a stadium to enjoy soccer.” He also said the city and MLS are open to other locations for the stadium. (New York Post)
Another soccer team and a developer have proposed an alternate scenario: The New York Cosmos and the Queens-based Mattone Group want to build a new $374 million sports complex in Belmont Park, the Nassau County site of the well-known horse-racing track. The soccer complex would include a 25,000-seat stadium, a 175-room hotel, almost 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and a 4.3-acre community park. (Queens Tribune)
The Queens Museum,, on the outskirts of Flushing Meadows in a building erected for the 1939 World’s Fair,, is expanding. Slated for completion in October, the renovation will double the size of the building to 105,000 square feet. (Huffington Post)
NEW To THE MARKET BY THE NuMBERS
46 East 82nd Street | Bow front limestone and brick Townhouse located near Manhattan’s Museum Mile | $10,000,000 NIKKI FIELD Senior Global Real Estate Advisor, Associate Broker | 212.606.7669 | nikki.field@sothebyshomes.com | www.nikkifield.com PATRICIA WHEATLEY Global Real Estate Advisor, Associate Broker | 212.606.7613 | patricia.wheatley@sothebyshomes.com
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20 June 2013 www.TheRealDeal.com
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