Dec. 1, 2020 By Christian Murray
The Forest Hills Jewish Center is on the market for $50 million.
The 106-06 Queens Blvd. property has been listed with Manhattan-based B6 Real Estate Advisors and is being marketed as “a prime block front development site located in the heart of Forest Hills.”
The property has hit the market about a year after the synagogue scrapped plans to redevelop the site itself.
The synagogue, along with a real estate firm, initially planned to demolish the property and build a 10-story mixed use building that would include space for the center. However, the plans were shelved after the center had a disagreement with the developer.
Deborah Gregor, the executive director of the center, said the synagogue reached out to the B6 Real Estate about two weeks ago to have the property listed. She did not disclose why the center chose to sell the property, as opposed to develop the site itself.
The center, which houses a synagogue, classrooms and other services, encompasses the entire block front on the east side of 69th Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street. Much of the site consists of a four-story building.
The congregation was founded in 1931 on Kessel Street, and moved into its current building in the late 1940s. The synagogue can seat 1,200 to 1,300 congregants and the center serves about 500 families.
The property is situated within a C4-5X, FH (R7X equivalent) zoning district as well as a Qualified Opportunity Zone.
The center is located two blocks from the Forest Hills-71st Avenue subway station and three blocks from the Forest Hills Long Island Railroad station.