A plan to build 300 or more rental apartments atop the Rego Center Mall has received both positive and negative feedback from residents. File Photo
A plan to build 300-plus rental apartments atop the Rego Center Mall in Rego Park is moving ahead and getting mixed reactions from area residents.
Vornado Realty Trust, the developer of the Rego Center Mall, which opened the complex in 2010, has taken its plans for a 24-story residential tower, to be built on top of the mall, off hold and is moving forward after getting some initial construction permits from the city’s Department of Buildings in late August.
As Frank Gulluscio, district manager for Community Board 6 pointed out, the plans for the tower are nothing new. Vornado had intended to build the tower in 2007 but had to shelve the project due to the severe economic downturn.
“Now, things have turned around a bit and I guess they [Vornado] feel it is good timing for the project,” Gulluscio said.
Asked about concerns over the project, the district manager said there are both pros and cons.
“The concerns we’re hearing from local residents are simple—traffic, volume, etc,” he said.
“Our infrastructure can hold just so much,” Gulluscio continued. “But, the bottom line is this will be built.”
Breaking things down further, Gulluscio said that while the borough’s economic base will continue to grow as a result of the new rentals, there will also be many more people coming to an already congested area and that “infrastructure will continue to be strained.”
In a regulatory filing last year, Vornado projected the development would cost between $100 million and $120 million. Through a spokesman, Vornado declined to comment on the current project.
Rego Park resident Puo Lu, who lives across the street from the Rego Center Mall, called the project “brilliant” from a commercial perspective.
“The Rego Center is easily accessible from two I-495 highway exits, it’s 25 to 30 minutes via car and 30 minutes via subway from Manhattan, and it’s situated in the middle between Queens Mall and Forest Hills, which are both one to two stations away along the M/R line,” Lu said.
However, the resident said that street parking could be problematic.
“I used to spend five to 10 minutes on average circling around the blocks for a spot and that might get worse,” he said. He also added that another downside of the project is an “almost certain risk of gentrification.”
Forest Hills resident Michael Perlman, a preservationist and local landmarks advocate, had reservations about the project.
“I understand Vornado’s vision of developing what was once an eyesore of parking lots, and introducing some unique shops and restaurants with the mall’s green and eco-friendly atrium,” he said. But, Perlman also said the community should question the “quantity of new housing developments (particularly high-rises) that our community really needs.”
He added that the neighborhood faces pedestrian and traffic congestion, as well as sewage and sanitation problems.
“Let’s examine the consistently overflowing trash receptacles and foul odors on every other street corner…let’s take care of issues that take priority, before planning any future developments,” Perlman said.
City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), whose area includes Rego Park, declined to comment on the project.
Gulluscio added that, “while the area is very congested, it’s also someplace where everyone wants to live due to its proximity to Manhattan.”
By Alan Krawitz
