For-profit Plaza College has renewed its lease for the first three floors at Forest Hills Tower at 118-35 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, in addition to taking the sixth floor for a total occupation of 80,000 square feet, Commercial Observer has learned.<\/p>\n
Roy Chipkin from CBRE<\/a> represented Plaza College. The building\u2019s owner, Muss Development<\/a>, handled the lease in-house. The asking rent was in the low $50s per square foot.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: Coworking Spots Continue to Proliferate Farther From Central Business Districts<\/a><\/p>\n Muss announced that the renewal and expansion brings the 375,000-square-foot, 17-story building \u2014 the \u201clargest, most accessible Class A office building in Queens,\u201d according to Muss<\/a> \u2014 to 99 percent occupancy.<\/p>\n Plaza originally signed on for the lower three floors in 2013, creating what the developer calls a \u201cbuilding-within-a-building\u201d campus. The facility hopes to begin using the 21,068-square-foot sixth floor once its build-out is complete in the first quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n Prior to Plaza\u2019s lease, the building was a regional headquarters for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which used it as a response center for Superstorm Sandy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re proud to expand and extend our relationship with Plaza College as they continue to grow and thrive in Forest Hills Tower,\u201d Muss Development President Jason Muss said in a statement. \u201cTheir new, long-term commitment underscores the extensive work we\u2019ve put into the property to make it accessible and dynamic for a diversity of tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n Plaza is a private college with schools dedicated to business, court reporting, dental sciences, health and nursing. The expansion will be home to the latter two.<\/p>\n \u201cThis expansion will accommodate new and exciting programs in the college\u2019s growing School of Graduate Studies focusing on critical healthcare providers and advanced nursing,\u201d Charles E. Callahan IV, provost of Plaza College, said in a statement. \u201cWe are increasing our presence by over 20,000 square feet to support state-of-the-art learning environments, healthcare simulation labs, and dedicated facilities for our growing cohort of master\u2019s students.\u201d<\/p>\n Other tenants in the building include the law office of Isaac Abraham; the offices of Pasternack<\/a>, Tilker<\/a>, Ziegler<\/a>, Walsh<\/a>, Stanton & Romano LLP<\/a>; Schweiger Dermatology Group<\/a>; and the offices of Muss Development.<\/p>\n