An 11-acre site near JFK airport now used for parking is being pitched to supermarkets and shopping center tenants.
Long owned by Linx Industries, a family company led by principle Arik Kislin, the site straddles both Queens and Nassau County on the east side of Rockaway Boulevard. The parcel is just southeast of the road’s intersection with Brookville Boulevard.
The property’s southern border already hosts a Lowe’s, K-Mart, TJ Maxx and others, plus plenty of residential units in the Five Towns of Long Island.
The site was once considered for a series of townhouses geared to those 55-and-over, but as retail became stronger, Kislin says the company switched gears.
“Fifty-five would have been fantastic but the family decided to keep the site for the long run,” he said.
“Now, retail is a sensitive subject but food hasn’t been affected as much as everything else. Not everyone is getting peaches and milk from Amazon,” Kislin said.
Broker Kenneth Schuckman of Schuckman Realty is marketing the 75,000-square-foot project that will be built on five acres so as not to interfere with nearby wetlands.
Any supermarket anchor is expected to pay $40 to $45 per square foot. End cap space in the Nassau County portion is estimated at $60 to 70 per foot while a pad site should garner $100-plus per foot.
Already, there is a letter of intent with Starbucks, Kislin said. With over 77,000 cars a day passing by along Rockaway Boulevard, he added, “We think a grocer is ideal.”
