Queens Courier 10/29/08
Forest Hills commercial hub facing rezoning

Two New York retail properties bring $32 million
by Chad King

Rockville, Md.-based Federal Realty Investment Trust has sold two Forest Hills, N.Y.-area retail properties for $32 million to a group of investors led by owner Heskel Elias of The Heskel Group.

No brokers were involved in the transaction.

Federal Realty acquired both buildings, which total 39,500 square feet, in 1997. One retail property contains 17,500 square feet and is home to Duane Reade and Staples while the other 22,500 square-foot building houses the Gap.

The deal is part of a reverse 1031 exchange with a 166,200 square-foot shopping center in Charlottesville, Va. Federal Realty acquired Shoppers' World in May.

Federal Realty is an investment company that specializes in real estate development, management and acquisition.

Address: 10716 71st Ave., Forest Hills, N.Y. and 69-39 Austin St., Forest Hills, N.Y.

Size: 39,500 square feet

Queens Chronicle February 15, 2007

A developer’s plan to build a world class hotel in the heart of Forest Hills is still on the drawing board, but the project may not be quite as sweeping or ambitious as originally thought, city officials said. This week, developer Heskel Elias insisted he is still intent on bringing luxury lodgings to the neighborhood, but may have to revise earlier plans as he negotiates with city officials over zoning and traffic rules.

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Forest Hills Alive With Hotel Buzz

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The Queens Courier November 9, 2006

Hotel proposed for Forest Hills

By Pete Davis

Known to many community residents as “Mr. Forest Hills,” Heskel Elias and his development group have put together plans to bring an $80 million world-class, five-star hotel, spa and mixed-use center to Austin Street.

Elias' development group, The Heskel Group, Inc., met with the planning and zoning committee of Community Board 6 last month about plans for a 15-story, 150-room hotel that would also include restaurants, shops and even additional parking for residents along 70th Avenue and Austin Street.

“People have to dream, [like when] Robert Moses wanted to build a bridge…This is my dream for Forest Hills, my dream for the community I love,” Elias said.

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Forest Hills Ledger, November. 2, 2006

Austin St. to get 5-star lodgings

Drivers searching for elusive parking spaces on Austin Street may get help from an unexpected source: a proposed 15-story luxury hotel which, yes, will bring more traffic but will also include more public parking spaces.

Community Board 6 Land Use Vice-chairman Norman Tepper said at last month's meeting that real estate developer The Heskel Group is eyeing a lot at the corner of Austin Street and 70th Road for a 150-room hotel to be completed by late 2008.

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Changes in store for Forest Hills' Shops

Daily News, Sunday, September 21, 2003

"As retail slows down, we need to really compensate with solid tenancy like the medical field, which brings a constant flow of tenants to the area," said [Heskel] Elias.
(Speaking about the newly reconstructed building at 70-10 Austin Street which Heskel Elias owns.)
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Excerpt from article:
Then, Austin St. only had 30 to 35 shops. Today, 120 stores line the street, 20 of them outlets of big chains, said Heskel Elias, owner of  The Heskel Group, the real estate developer responsible for much of the modernization of Austin St., beginning in the mid-1970s....
Elias said the small-town attention from shopkeepers still exists, adding, "The big companies are bringing in the traffic and the mom-and-pop stores will feed off of that. Prosperity still needs to take place. People want to see new stores and change."

Queens Courier, September 19, 2001
Elias: Keep Rudy In Office A While Longer
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The Queens Gazette, August 16, 2001
Olympic Airways Lands On Austin Street

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Queens Chronicle, Thursday, July 19, 2001
Austin Street Business Dist. To Get a Facelift
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Gap to Close 6 City Stores
Small Manhattan shops to go

Newsday, Tuesday, April 10, 2001
(excerpted from article) But Yeheskel Elias, a landlord and real estate developer who recently completed the 22,000-square-foot Gap Superstore in Forest Hills, said he does not expect The Gap to cut stores in Queens. 
"Queens is not saturated," he said.

Gap Dresses for Opening in New Forest Hills Store

Newsday, Friday March 9, 2001
Gap Dresses for Opening In New Forest Hills Store
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Daily News, Sunday August 6, 2000
Gap's Growing in Forest Hills
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Times Ledger, August 24, 2000
Forest Hills gets a lofty new Gap
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