Whitestone Lanes Developers Strike $45M Deal

The longtime owner of Whitestone Lanes in Flushing found a development partner to pin the future of the site on.

Manhattan-based Urban Realty Partners joined forces with Mar Mar Realty — the development affiliate of the Queens bowling alley’s ownership — on a $45 million deal for 30-05 Whitestone Expressway, the Commercial Observer reported. The joint venture capitalization of the site was financed by $37 million in financing from an undisclosed lender.

The joint venture deal was arranged by JLL’s Mike Mazzara, Ethan Stanton and Brendan Maddigan.

Plans to redevelop the bowling alley into multifamily housing have long been on the table. Owner Marco Macaluso listed the property for sale for $60 million in 2015, ultimately pulling back and starting a rezoning process instead.

The beloved 48-lane bowling alley was ultimately rezoned to allow for more than 406,000 square feet of residential development, a big expansion for the 81,000-square-foot lot. The bowling alley appears to have recently closed.

A conceptual plan approved in 2024 calls for 415 units across nine stories, as well as open space on the southern corridor of Farrington Street and 31st Road. Affordable housing is expected to be part of the equation as the site is eligible for the 485x tax incentive program.

Mar Mar and Urban Realty did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the publication.

Urban Realty’s other developments in New York include a site in Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, that it purchased for $48.5 million back in 2021. The 218-unit project that went up at 218 Front Street was ultimately developed by Chess Builders’ Cheskel Schwimmer.

Bowling alleys are emerging as a prime target for redevelopment to strike.

Last year, Cord Meyer Development and the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens filed an application to rezone a site at 69-10 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights.

The proposal aimed to demolish the existing Lucky Strike bowling alley and construct a 13-story, 276-unit mixed-use project spanning 214,000 square feet.

The development would include a 25,000-square-foot community facility, 8,700 square feet of retail space and set aside approximately 25 percent of the residential units for affordable housing.

— Holden Walter-Warner