Vornado, Silverstein, BEB propose major mixed-use projects

Plans would bring 1,300 apartments to Queens, Brooklyn

Clockwise from left: Vornado's Steven Roth with 61-19 Junction Boulevard, Rego Park, Silverstein Properties' Larry Silverstein with 44-01 Northern Boulevard in Astoria and BEB Capital's Bert Brodsky with 1065 Atlantic Avenue in Bedford–Stuyvesant (Images via Google Maps, Getty Images, BEB Capital)
Clockwise from left: Vornado's Steven Roth with 61-19 Junction Boulevard, Rego Park, Silverstein Properties' Larry Silverstein with 44-01 Northern Boulevard in Astoria and BEB Capital's Bert Brodsky with 1065 Atlantic Avenue in Bedford–Stuyvesant (Images via Google Maps, Getty Images, BEB Capital)

Three developers just filed plans for major mixed-use projects in the outer boroughs.

Vornado Realty Trust wants to double down on Rego Park in Queens by constructing a 32-story tower near the Alexander at Rego Park, its 27-story, luxury rental apartment building atop the Rego Center shopping mall.

The new tower, at 61-10 Junction Boulevard, would feature 573 residential units along with 61,000 square feet of commercial space, according to the filing. The 824,000-square-foot building would stand 236 feet tall.

Vornado came to own the four-parcel site a few decades ago through its acquisition of Alexander’s, a real estate investment trust. The cost of construction is estimated to be $288 million, according to the filing. Slce Architects is listed as the architect of record. A Vornado representative did not return requests for comment.

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Also in Queens, Silverstein Properties filed plans for a 13-story building at 44-01 Northern Boulevard in Astoria. The 428,000-square-foot building would feature 354 residential units and about 15,000 square feet of commercial space. Hill West Architects is listed as the architect of record.

The site was formerly owned by Bruce Bendell, a disgraced car dealer from Queens who, along with his brother, was sentenced in 2019 to three years of probation for filing a false corporate tax return. Silverstein announced last fall that it acquired the site, although city records do not show how much the developer paid. Silverstein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

And in Brooklyn, BEB Capital, a Long Island-based real estate development and investment firm, wants to build a 17-story building with 425 residential units at 1065 Atlantic Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. BEB put together the five-parcel development site in two acquisitions, both in late 2019, totaling $20.1 million.

The 509,000-square-foot building would also feature about 52,000 square feet of commercial space and 8,000 square feet of community facility, according to the filing. Densityworks Architecture is listed as the architect of record.

BEB, which recently secured a rezoning to develop a 14-story, mixed-use building in Sunset Park, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That Fourth Avenue project, a collaboration with Totem Development, was opposed by some activists but supported by Community Board 7 because of its substantial component of affordable housing.