Property of the Month: Montroy DeMarco Architecture and 1 Oak complete mixed-use Silver Star Building in Long Island City

Queens, NY The developer, an affiliate of Silver Star Motors, Montroy DeMarco Architecture LLP (MDALLP) and 1 Oak Contracting have completed The Silver Star ground-up, mixed-use development located at 37-14 36th St. in Long Island City. The 10-story property houses a Silver Star Motors Mercedes-Benz dealership on the first and second floors, and rental residential units on the upper floors. 

The Silver Star is one of the first new high-rise mixed-use retail/residential buildings in the east Long Island City/Dutch Kills section, located along Northern Blvd. The property is located above the Manhattan-bound “R” and “M” trains subway stop and next to the Paper Factory Hotel.

Montroy DeMarco Architecture principal Richard DeMarco, AIA, said, “The 10-story, 135,000 s/f mixed-use structure features a 41,300 s/f Mercedes-Benz dealership on the first two stories and 85 rental apartments on the upper floors. This building is yet another prominent residential development in our firm’s extensive architectural portfolio of multifamily properties completed throughout New York City.”

The initial concept for the site’s development simply was to build a new pre-owned showroom for Silver Star Motors. During preliminary discussions about the design for an expanded dealership with Silver Star’s ownership, DeMarco recommended performing a residential test fit based on the property’s zoning. “Based on our experience in optimizing buildings’ size and revenue, while working within the complex New York City zoning regulations, we thought it best to maximize value for the owner and perform a test fit that would provide the highest return on investment. Our analysis showed that 85 apartments could be developed on the site within the local zoning guidelines. The owner/developer decided to go forward with the residential component, in addition to the originally planned pre-owned dealership section,” said DeMarco.

The residential rental units comprise 30 studios, 27 one-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units, and two three-bedroom units. 

MNS Real Estate is serving as a leasing broker and marketing agent for the property. In addition to Montroy DeMarco Architecture and contractor 1 Oak, the project team included Fogarty Finger Architecture as the interior designer for the residential units; Dealer Solutions and Design was the dealership design consultant; the structural engineer was Gilsanz Murray Steficek; the mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) engineer was Lilker Engineering; the geotechnical and S.O.E. engineer and environmental consultant was GZA GeoEnvironmental; and the civil engineer was DeRosier Engineering.