Grun Group Files Plans to Build 108 Units in Kew Gardens, Queens

The Grun Group has filed plans to bring two new residential developments to Kew Gardens, Queens, that — if approved — will result in 108 units. 

Plans filed with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) on June 16 call for the construction of a nine-story, 58-unit residential building at 116-18 Grosvenor Lane. A second set of plans filed on the same day calls for another nine-story, 50-unit building next door at 116-14 Grosvenor Lane. Both parcels sit just south of Metropolitan Avenue, about a block from Forest Park.

Both plans were filed by Yonah Grunhut, CEO and founder of Grun Group, while Naresh Mahangu of engineering firm NKM is the applicant of record for both. 

Spokespeople for Grun Group and NKM did not immediately respond to Commercial Observer’s requests for comment. 

Details on the scope of the planned work are scarce, but there is a stop work order on the property at 116-14 Grosvenor Lane. The DOB did not immediately respond to CO’s request for comment regarding the stop work order. 

News of Grun Group’s building plans in the Queens neighborhood come as more and more developers use multiple land parcels to skirt around the city’s 485-x tax incentive, which often forces companies to cap housing construction at 99 units to avoid higher construction wages. Building housing in separate adjacent properties allows developers to pay lower construction wages yet still build more than 99 units.

Other developers to follow that trend recently include Vilson Lumaj, who bought the vacant property at 761-769 East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx for $13.5 million last week to build two 99-unit buildings, as well as development firm Nalcorp, which bought three land parcels along the Bronx’s East 132nd Street and Bruckner Boulevard for $21.7 million last week to construct a series of 99-unit properties.

But overall, developers have certainly been busy filing plans to bring more housing to Queens. Recently, Vaya Development filed plans to build a 285-unit, 290,561-square-foot residential building at 164-02 Jamaica Avenue. Benenson Capital Partners wants to build 389 units at 100-12 Queens Boulevard, while United Construction & Development wants to build a pair of buildings with 630 units at 61-06 Junction Boulevard. 

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.