RKO Plan Favors Rentals Over Sales
By Joseph Orovic
The new $160 million vision for the RKO Keith’s theatre has finally come into view with the revelation of developer Patrick Thompson’s plans for the site, as well as its Board of Standards and Appeals request for a minor modification.
The 17-story structure will largely remain unchanged in size and presentation from past owner Boymelgreen’s aesthetic plans. It will just house considerably more residents.
The BSA application asks for the modification of the maximum number of apartments from 200 to 357, and adds 131 parking spaces, giving it a total of 360.
The plan also increases the floor space for commercial spaces to 17,460 from 10,957.
The residential units will also change from condominiums to rentals. It will leave intact the community space, in the form of the senior center, moving it up to third floor from the second.
The plan was generally met with open arms by local elected officials.
“The RKO Keith’s site has been an eyesore for too long, and I am glad someone has bought it who has promised to rehabilitate it,” said Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing). “Northern Boulevard is the gateway to Flushing, and I don’t want visitors to be greeted by a derelict abandoned movie theater.”
The modification must navigate the typical approval process, with a presentation before Community Board 7, which will then offer recommendations. The modification will go before the borough president before finally winding its way back to the BSA in early spring.
“It is my hope that through a process of community input and governmental negotiations, that renovation can begin to improve its current abhorrent condition,” said Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing).
The change in the number of units reflects a reaction to the fluctuating real estate market. Whereas 200 larger condo units would have been marketable when Boymelgreen originally acquired the building in 2002, economic forces have forced a scaling back of the size of units.
The decision to go rental, on the other hand, can be attributed to the difficulty being experienced by the RKO’s neighbors.
“A lot of the condo projects in the Flushing market and Queens market are having a hard time,” Thompson said.
The design of the building itself remains largely unchanged from Boymelgreen’s original look. The structure, at the northern end of Main Street, will have a glass curtain-style lower façade, with a wavy entrance designed to present the historic lobby of the former theater.
The lobby itself, a landmarked and oft-romanticized portal into the theater’s heyday, will be fully restored to its previous state, according to architect Jay Valgora of Manhattan-based Studio V Architecure.
“The new building will be very contemporary, and work with and contrast the lobby,” he said. “The goal is to recreate the theatrical character of the theater. The lobby will be on stage at the end of Main Street.”
Thompson feels the layout, design and location of the building will suit the market and attract renters.
The project is his first foray outside of Manhattan, and he has learned the distinct differences between the boroughs.
“The project is more local to Flushing,” he said. “Manhattan is a very dense housing market.”
Oh, and the view is nicer than anything you can find in that other borough.
“It’s a wonderful sightline with views I can’t replicate in Manhattan,” he said.
Thompson hopes that after navigating the approval process, shovels will hit dirt sometime this year and will become a signature building to the community decades after its completion.
“It’s going to be a landmark building,” he said. “It’s going to solidify the northern end of Main Street.”
Reach Reporter Joseph Orovic at jorovic@queenstribune.com, or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127.