Little-known developers power Flushing construction in 2021

By Atticus O’Brien-Pappalardo

Flushing has long-been one of the city’s most active development locations. Perhaps because of its distance from Manhattan, it’s also been a hub of development activity by individuals with low profiles in the New York City real estate press. PincusCo found that Flushing was tied as the second most popular neighborhood for new development so far this year, behind only Riverdale.

One example is Jianfei Chen, who bought a high-profile site and filed for a large development there, yet Chen has received scant coverage in the industry media. Chen filed plans for a 204,163-square-foot mixed-use building with 202 hotel units and 150 residential units at 133-25 37th Avenue. Chen along with Zongyin Lyu bought the site for $58 million in 2020, though at the time it was only developer Gary Tsan who was reported as the buyer. But it’s Chen and Lyu who signed the deed and mortgages.

That’s not Chen’s only active project in Queens. Chen is also a principal along with Lyu, of a 70-unit residential condominium project in Long Island City at 37-26 32nd Street, with a $71.1 million sellout, filed in June.

PincusCo is taking a look at a handful of developers with underreported new building plans in Flushing, Queens, that were either filed or had new activity in the first half of 2021. The plans examined were a mix of new building plans filed with the city’s Department of Buildings this year or condominium plans filled with the state’s Attorney General this year that had older accompanying DOB plans. The projects examined were either filed by relatively unknown developers or did not receive much media attention.

In April of 2019, Elizabeth Chen filed a permit application for construction of a 139-foot-tall, 13-story, 56-unit, 68,065-square-foot mixed-use building at 134-53 Maple Avenue in Flushing, Queens. The plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under number Q00498832. The development will occupy one tax lot.

Morali Architects is designing the building, which the developer acquired for $7.5 million on May 29, 2013.

Other new building plans included Dechun Chen’s plans for a 60-foot tall, six-story, 17,012-square-foot residential building with 25 dwelling units at 141-15 Cherry Avenue in Flushing. The development will span two tax lots and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under the number Q00484021.

Tan Architect P.C is listed as the architect. The developer purchased the property in the summer of last year.

The plans went unreported.

There were also non-residential plans filed, like Li Tian Ji’s plans for a 140-foot tall, 11-story, 72,563-square-foot commercial office building with retail space at 36-63 Main Street in Flushing, on a site that spans three tax lots. The plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under number Q00486849. Raymond Chan Architect P.C. is the architect listed.

The developer purchased the property for $5.8 million in 2007.

Additionally, several condominium plans have been filed in the neighborhood this year. Of the three condo plans examined in this spotlight, two of the accompanying dob plans were filed in 2016 and one was filed in 2018, during a period of significant development in the neighborhood.

The most expensive of the three plans were submitted at 42-18 147th Street in Flushing by the company Grand 147th Street Development LLC. The project covers five lots with two-story apartment buildings with separate owners that have been merged into a single tax lot under one owner entity.

The condominium plan for 54 residential units, CD210168, had a sellout price of $42.57 million with the New York State Attorney General. Wang Tat Lam was listed as the broker on the filing, which did not list a principal of the sponsor.

The previous owner of at least one of the parcels, a Flushing-based company called Success Team Realty, had filed plans calling for the construction of a 10-unit residential building at the property in 2016, which was reported by Yimby. Those plans are still active, and still list Success Team Realty, however they have been altered to now call for the construction of a 64-foot tall, seven-story, 36,679-square-foot residential building with 53 dwelling units.

From the DOB plan’s virtual jobs folder, PincusCo was able to find the original plans calling for a building with 10 units.

PincusCo was unable to find any news reports of the DOB plans changing or of Grand 147th Street Development LLC’s condo plans.

The second most expensive condo plans looked at were submitted for a development with 12 commercial units at 133-20 41st Road in Flushing. The condo plan, CD210110, has a sellout price of $24,730,000 with the New York State Attorney General and Xi Zhao is listed as the principal of the sponsor. Zhao was also the signatory for the $6 million purchase of the property in 2017.

Yimby reported on the new building plans filed with the DOB in 2018, however the developer was not mentioned by name.

My Architect PC was the architect listed on the DOB plans.

The third most expensive plans were filed by Kevin Yang, through the company 146 Northern LLC, who submitted a $23.2 million condominium plan for 30 residential units and two commercial units at 35-20 146th Street in Flushing, the third most expensive plans looked at in the spotlight.

Kevin Yang was listed as the principal of sponsor for the condo plan, CD210145. Chun Min Kwok and Joyce Pik Wan Cheng are listed as members.

New building plans were filed in 2016 calling for a 54-foot tall, six-story, 33,551-square-foot residential building with 30 dwelling units at the property.

Yimby reported on the new building plans at the time of filing.