By Stephen Stirling
Borough President Helen Marshall approved plans for a large luxury development on Whitestone's north shore last week, which would rezone a large swath of land set aside for manufacturing use to make way for dozens of single-family homes.
Marshall signed off on rezoning 15 acres at 151-45 Sixth Road, a major step in clearing the way for a $100 million to $200 million project featuring 52 single-family apartments and townhouses.
“The applicant has responded to the concerns and issues raised by the City Planning Commission in revising their development proposal,” Marshall said in her recommendation. “Community Board 7 approved the original plan and has indicated their support of the revised application. The layout of the revised plan is an improvement with regard to the location and number of accessible parking spaces, the reduced number of units and continued commitment to provide significant amounts of publicly accessible open spaces.”
The new plan brought the number of residential units down to 52 from 55.
Bayrock Group, which plans on developing the site, said that remediation would probably have to occur at the site, which has housed mainly auto-related industries and an asphalt factory for the last several decades.
If the rezoning is approved by the City Council, however, Bayrock hopes to turn the large waterfront property into a community of dozens of townhouses that would be priced from $900,000 to more than $2 million.
Bayrock said the site would also include more than three acres of publicly accessible open space, including a waterfront promenade that would run along the property's rocky beach.
City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) publicly spoke in support of the plan at CB 7's June 30 meeting and said the developer worked with his office and the community from the onset and developed a project that would fit well into the existing neighborhood.
“This is actually a precedent for whatever comes down the pipe,” Avella said of the plan in July. “They have done what every developer should do in this situation.”
Avella said the plan, if implemented, would also go a long way toward reducing the truck traffic that has plagued the area.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, ext. 138.
