Developer Plans 270-Unit Residential Building on Vacant Queens Lot
By Isabelle Durso June 24, 2025 3:47 pm
reprints
Developer Sam Zirkiev of Zirk Group plans to bring new housing to a vacant lot in Lindenwood, Queens.
Zirkiev filed an application with New York City’s Department of City Planning on Monday to build a six-story, 186,374-square-foot residential building at 135-27 Sapphire Street. Plans call for 270 apartments — including around 68 permanently affordable units — and a cellar with 118 parking spaces.
The complex is designed as a U-shaped building surrounding an inner courtyard, with the 270 apartments split into 68 studios, 111 one-bedroom units and 91 two-bedroom units, according to the filing.
The 55,173-square-foot lot Zirkiev plans to build on between Linden Boulevard and 149th Avenue is two blocks east of the Linden Boulevard Rezoning, which was designed to “facilitate the development of four new buildings,” according to the filing. Zirkiev has proposed to amend that rezoning to map a medium-density residential area along 149th Avenue.
“The proposed zoning text amendment would provide the Lindenwood neighborhood with new permanently affordable housing, which would support the city’s effort to increase the overall supply of affordable housing,” Zirkiev wrote in the filing, through the entity 135 Sapphire LLC.
“The shortage of affordable housing and housing in general has been highlighted by the current administration as an urgent issue that needs addressing,” he added.
Zirkiev could not be reached for further comment.
Zirkiev, who bought the Lindenwood lot through a linked entity for $350,000 in July 2016, is also seeking a rezoning for another project in Queens.
The developer is looking to build a two-building, 213-unit residential development at 14-10 Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway, with 4,500 square feet of community space and 4,000 square feet of retail space, the New York Business Journal reported. If approved, construction on that project would finish sometime in 2029.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
