Almost two years after residents successfully boycotted efforts to install a Wal-Mart in Rego Park, the head of the city's largest private development firm has returned with plans for a mixed-use facility that he's convinced will win everybody over this time.
Vornado Realty Trust President Stephen Roth joined a cadre of elected officials last Thursday to break ground on Rego Park Center a mixed-use complex that promises a bevy of new shopping and retail options on the lot formerly used by Alexander's department store.
Anchored by Home Depot, Century 21 and Kohl's, the center will also boast three floors of shops, a multilevel garage and up to 400 apartments. The stores will be accessible from the street via an outdoor galleria that intersects the 600,000-square-foot lot from Junction Boulevard to 97th Street.
The complex will add to the array of shopping options including Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, Marshall's and Old Navy across the street at Rego Park Mall, a property also owned by Vornado.
To lure thousands of vehicle-bound consumers to these stores, Vornado officials have planned a curved red wall at the property's western end that will be visible from the Long Island Expressway. That innovative design, Roth said, "will make this more than just a collection of stores, but an architectural landmark in Queens."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg added that the $550 million project would foster economic growth in Rego Park. The two-year construction phase will create 2,500 unionized trades jobs, he said, and 1,400 permanent positions are slated to open, once the retail component is completed in 2009. "Many of those jobs will be filled by neighborhood residents," Bloomberg said.
The developer filed preliminary building plans for the center with the City Planning Commission in early 2006 just months after negotiations with Wal-Mart fell apart amid heavy opposition from labor leaders over the retailer's alleged worker abuse.
With plans for the big-box store now scrapped, retail officials say residents can look forward to a far more community-friendly mix of amenities. Chief among them, Roth said, is a 2,500-square-foot community room, to be used for civic meetings and local cultural events. To ease the anticipated glut of pedestrians and vehicular traffic around the center, Vornado has also agreed to widen the surrounding roadways and install additional turnstiles at the 63rd Drive-Rego Park subway station.
Additionally, the developer has planned a 1,400-space parking garage, across the street from the existing Sears garage; and will landscape the western end of the mall in order to provide a more gracious entry to nearby Lost Battalion Hall, a city-owned building.
But the most significant amenity, city officials agreed, was Vornado's promise of rent-free space for community use. At the groundbreaking, Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights) took credit for securing that space, but was unable to elaborate on specifically how the room would be used, or who would have access to it.
"We haven't sat down to talk about that yet," said Frank Gulluscio, district manager for Community Board 6. "The important thing is, it's a show of good faith," he added. "The developer has put it there and been hands-off about its use which shows they're interested in doing whatever we say is good for the people living here."
As of press time, the fate of a planned high-rise residential component atop the mall remained uncertain. Vornado officials originally proposed two luxury apartment buildings, with a 15-story tower at 97th Street and 62nd Drive, and a 20-story tower at Junction Boulevard and 62nd Drive.
But the architectural renderings unveiled at last week's ceremony showed only one tower partly because Vornado has yet to finalize a design plan for the second, said Senior Project Manager Michael Berfield. "Trust me, the towers are still in the works," he said. "But we're going to focus on getting the retail component on the ground first, before we think about housing."
