Upscale Condos Head to Flushing

Sept. 1, 2015 — For real estate developers, Flushing is coming of age, and in an overcrowded city where condos are rising anywhere you turn, the Queens neighborhood is a potential goldmine. For the community that has lived and thrived there for years, it may be time to worry. Early next month, sales start at Flushing Commons, a mixed-use development that has been in the works for a decade, reports The New York Times. According to the article, "the first phase of the 1.8 million-square-foot project will be finished in 2017, delivering 148 residential condos as well as office condos and retail.

Eventually, the complex of more than five acres will house a total of 600 residential condos, an outdoor plaza, and a new Y.M.C.A. facility. Completion is scheduled for mid-2021." Construction began last year, and has already caused chaos in the already bustling commercial hub: it's isolating small businesses and beginning to drive parking costs up — "prices have jumped to $3 an hour from $1, vexing drivers and merchants."

What will these changes mean for the mom-and-pop shops "selling pork buns, noodle soups and herbal remedies"? It remains to be seen, of course, but jaded New Yorkers who have already witnessed entire neighborhoods disappear to give way to shiny condos and shinier eateries and bars catering to those with lots of cash may not be too optimistic. People are drawn to the charm and character of neighborhoods like Flushing, only to change everything. As prices increase, people have no choice but to close up shop and move out.

So how much will the new residents of Flushing have to shell out for these new condos? Prices start at $650,000 for a one-bedroom with Swedish oak floors, quartz countertops and Italian porcelain tiles, says The Times. And "among the amenities for condo residents: a dog park, a reading room and Zen walking gardens. Two-bedrooms start at $850,000, three-bedrooms at $1.2 million and four-bedrooms at $2.5 million."