Or a historic preservation fight, 34 years in the making, depending on your perspective.
"Community board members in Flushing are once again faced with a new development proposal at the site of the historic RKO Keith’s theater, the latest plan in a halting, decades-long attempt to repurpose the site of the grand movie palace," reports David Brand.
"Property owner Xinyuan Real Estate has submitted an application to the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals to build 173 condominiums and 162 hotel rooms in a 16-story tower that would rise above the theater facade," according to Brand.
China-based Xinyuan Real Estate bought the property in 2016, according to Brand, and in 2019 was reportedly moving forward with a plan to demolish the theater and replace it with 269 condominiums.
"The new proposal also includes more retail square footage and double the space set aside for an undisclosed 'community facility,' according to materials presented to the Queens Community Board 7 Land Use Committee Wednesday. Xinyuan has said they could complete the project by January 2023."
The theater closed down in 1986, and has faced numerous occasions of imminent development and demolition across the decades, spurring local advocates to fight to protect the theater as a site of significant cultural history, but the theater itself was never landmarked, according to a March 2019 article by Van Tieu.
As noted in the most recent article about the theater and the developers' plans to remake the location, previous developers have always managed to profit on the failure by selling to the next developer willing to give the location a shot.
FULL STORY: Flushing considers latest RKO Keith's development plan after 34 years of false starts
Community Planning Gives Voices to the Voiceless
People who can't vote can still have a say in the processes by which their neighborhoods are planned and developed. An example from New York City illustrates the point.
Amazon Calls the Whole New York Thing Off
The AmazonHQ2 circus is packing up and moving to another city.
Mayor de Blasio Stresses Affordable Housing in State of the City Address
In his State of the City Address on Feb. 3, the New York City mayor made it clear that his overriding priority is affordable housing. He targeted six neighborhoods in all five boroughs where development will be required to include affordable housing.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure
After decades of debate, the market is testing a car ban in one of its busiest areas and adding walking links to the surrounding neighborhood.
The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?
In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.
Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions