Grand One, 131-01 40th Road: Review and Ratings

Review of 131-01 40th Road by Carter Horsley

Sky View Parc is a very impressive, 14-acre mixed-use development at 40-26 College Point Boulevard between Roosevelt Avenue and 40th Road in Flushing. 

It was initially built by the Muss Development Company and Onex Real Estate Partners but the financial crisis in 2008 made Muss drop out.  In 2015, Onex sold the project's large retail mall and parking to Blackstone for $400 million. 

The whole development was designed by Perkins Eastman. 

Moss Gilday is the landscape architect firm for the project. 

The first phase, consisting of three 17-story masonry towers setback diagonally on the four-story retail and parking podium contained 448 apartments, which were sold out in 2013.  The second phase, consisting of three glass-clad towers, contain 743 apartments and is known as The Grand at Sky View Parc. A February 6, 2015 article by C.J. Hughes in The New York Times noted that "with floor-to-ceiling windows and glass balcony railings, the newest tower was intended to have a much lighter look than its more fortresslike predecessor."  "A luxury vibe was wanted, too, which explains the Bosch appliances, Grohe faucets and Kohler tubs, said Michael Dana, the president and chief executive of Onex," the article continued. 

The site was formerly a parking lot and now its nearly 1,200 condominium apartments are built around a 6-acre private park with a pool and basketball and tennis courts atop of a 800,000-square-foot shopping center across from what Josh Barbanel described in the October 11, 2017 edition of The Wall Street Journal as "the hubbub of downtown Flushing." 

A June 15, 2015 article by Daniel Geiger at crainsnewyork.com noted the development's retail space "includes big-box value-themed stores, with outlet location for Nike and Restoration Hardware, a Nordstrom Rack, Uniqlo and discount warehouse chain BJ's Wholesale club," adding that "Target also has a large outpost at the property, but it owns its location as a condo interest in the mall and is not part of Blackstone's acquisition." 

According to a May 23, 2019 article by Dana Schulz at 6sqft.com Blackstone is opening in 2019 an "upscale food hall...taking inspiration from San Francisco's popular Chinese [Live] marketplace."  It will be run by Collichio Consulting. 

The project is a three-minute walk from the 7 subway line Main Street station and the Long Island Rail Road station and Citifield.

Bottom Line

This attractive and huge, 6-building, mid-rise condominium apartment at a prime location in Flushing has many amenities and a large elevated park over an 800,000-square-foot shopping mall with a large, bold and distinctive, double-height, curved front window.

Description

The first phase of this development is slightly reminiscent of the light-colored slab design of the famous Manhattan House development on Third Avenue and 66th Street in Manhattan except that it does not have that project's balconies and its very handsome park is on the roof of a large shopping mall. 

Of course, the Manhattan House is a single slab and this has two large and long slab and a much more distinctive retail base with a large curved double-height front window. 

In addition, the slabs in this project are set back above the retail/parking podium and have articulated façades. 

In contrast, the second phase of this development consists of three, free-standing glass-clad slabs that reflect the more "modern" style of Richard Meier's three glass towers in the West Village facing the Hudson River. 

Amenities

The buildings have 24-hour concierges and doormen, a children's playground, golf putting greens, a dog run, a health club, and a live-in resident manager.

Apartments

Apartments have 9-foot ceilings and washers and dryers. 

Apartment 9F is a three-bedroom unit with a 27-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen with an island. 

Apartment 8C is a two-bedroom unit with 1,129 square feet of indoor space and 307 square feet of outdoor space with a 35-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen with a breakfast bar and a long terrace. 

Penthouse B is a two-bedroom unit with 1,422 square feet of indoor space and three terraces with a total of almost 500 square feet and a 28-foot-long living dining room with an open kitchen with a breakfast bar. 

Penthouse 2 is a two-bedroom unit with 1,111 square feet and a 22-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen. 

Apartment 16G is a three-bedroom corner unit with a 22-foot-long living/dining room with an open kitchen with an island.