Owner seeks city zoning change to develop up to 74 units in Bensonhurst

The entity 7502 Property Inc., controlled by Shi Hua Chen, filed a land-use application on Friday seeking a rezoning at 7502 New Utrecht Avenue, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in order to replace a low-slung, one-story industrial and retail building with an 11-story, 74-unit, mixed-use tower with 88,202 square feet. Ben Wong of Great City Plumbing Inc., currently occupies the site and was the client for a pre-development environmental analysis of the property that was included as part of the application process.

Different portions of the application say it will have fewer units. In one place it says 30 units and in another place it says 51 units. However, at the top of the Environmental Assessment Statement, which is the formal application, it cites 74 units.

“Project Description — The Applicant, 7502 Property Inc., is proposing to rezone the eastern-most portion of Brooklyn Block 6225, Lots 11-14, 17, 21-25, 28, and portions of Lots 8 and 29-32 (the “Proposed Rezoning Area”) from R5/C2-2 to C4-4D and establish the Proposed Rezoning Area as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) area (the “Proposed Actions”). Lot 17, which is a corner lot, is owned by the Applicant and comprises the “Proposed Development Site.” Under the RWCDS, the Proposed Actions would facilitate the development of a 11-story (145-foot-tall; 165-foot-tall including mechanical bulkhead), approximately 88,202-gsf mixed-use building, consisting of approximately 63,073-gsf of residential uses (74 dwelling units [DUs]), approximately 6,525-gsf of local retail uses, approximately 9,302-gsf of commercial office uses, and approximately 15 parking spaces located in the cellar of the building (the “Projected Development”). Pursuant to the City’s MIH program, up to 20, 25, or 30 percent of the 74 DUs (or approximately 15-22 units) would be designated as permanently affordable at an average affordability level not exceeding 60 percent of area median.”

The application, 2022K0419, filed March 20, 2026, targets a corner lot at the intersection of New Utrecht Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway. The developer is seeking to change the current R5/C2-2 zoning to a C4-4D district, which would increase the permitted residential floor area ratio (FAR) to from 2.0 to 7.2.

The filing represents an effort to capitalize on the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program and the site’s proximity to the elevated D subway line. By trading a sub-1.0 FAR plumbing supply yard for a 145-foot tower, the developer is testing the city’s appetite for high-density, transit-oriented development in a neighborhood traditionally characterized by two- and three-story residential stock.

In a move typical of mid-block rezonings to avoid spot zoning challenges, the “Proposed Rezoning Area” encompasses far more than the developer’s home lot. While 7502 Property Inc. only owns Lot 17, which is a 9,302-square-foot parcel, the application seeks to rezone a total of 35,317 square feet, which includes 15 additional tax lots not owned or controlled by the applicant, specifically Block 6225, Lots 11-14, 21-25, 28, and portions of 8 and 29-32. Most of these third-party lots are currently occupied by small-scale residential buildings with two to three units each. Under the new C4-4D designation, these neighbors would see a significant spike in “as-of-right” development potential, though no immediate plans for those sites have been disclosed.

The proposed building is slated to rise 11 stories, reaching 165 feet. The residential component comprises 63,073 square feet totaling 74 dwelling units. Between 15 and 22 of these units will be permanently affordable under MIH. Commercial space totals 15,827 square feet, divided between 6,525 square feet of ground-floor local retail and 9,302 square feet of second-floor office space. Additionally, the plan includes 15 voluntary accessory parking spaces located in the cellar.

The applicant-owned site has been underutilized for decades; while it once housed a restaurant in 1957, it currently functions as a plumbing supply store with a built FAR of just 0.58. Environmental reports prepared by AKRF in late 2025 and early 2026 identified historical uses in the surrounding area including dry cleaning and plastics manufacturing, necessitating the assignment of an (E) Designation for hazardous materials and noise.

Construction is expected to take 18 months, with a projected completion date in early 2029, following the conclusion of the seven-month ULURP process.

The property

The retail building in Bensonhurst has 5,385 square feet of built space and 4,953 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 10,320 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has three buildings with frontage of 111 feet and is 68 feet deep with a total lot size of 8,256 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is R5 which allows for up to 1.25 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $759,000.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

This property was sold by Song Hui Im for $2.7 million to Shi Hua Chen on June 29, 2021.

The 5,385-square-foot property generated revenue of $115,707 or $21 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Bensonhurst, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 16.5 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 21 percent of the space. In sales, Bensonhurst has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $361.1 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 20th highest in Brooklyn. For development, Bensonhurst has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 26th highest in Brooklyn. It had 424,883 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 15 commercial properties representing 73,785 square feet of the 95,854 square feet. The largest owner is Battista A. Zito, followed by Da Hong Ren and then Fabrizio Ficili. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Shi Hua Chen owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 5,385 square feet and a city-determined market value of $698,000. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single retail property. It is located in Brooklyn.

The surrounding

This is the first commercial real estate event of interest identified within the 400-foot radius of 1622 Bay Ridge Parkway in the past 24 months.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.