Jamaica Colosseum Mall Listed for Sale for $45 Million: Report

The mall on 165th Street was founded in 1984.
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QUEENS — The Jamaica Colosseum Mall, a large retail complex in downtown Jamaica housing more than 120 merchants, is up for grabs, sources said.

The nearly 50,000-square-foot property, at 89-02 165th St., has been listed for sale for $45 million, according to New York YIMBY, a website that covers real estate in New York.

The property, owned by the Partridge family and marketed by Epic Commercial Real Estate, has 250,000 square feet of development rights (commercial or residential), according to published reports.

Before the Jamaica Colosseum Mall opened in 1984, the complex — part of a pedestrian mall, which stretches along 165th Street, between Jamaica Avenue and 89th Avenue — was home to Macy’s, which closed in 1978.

More than 120 merchants, including many jewelers, conduct their business at the mall, named after the Roman Colosseum, which also features a food court and rooftop parking, according to the mall’s website.

A number of rappers and hip hop artists, including LL Cool J and Wu-Tang Clan, filmed their videos there, the site says.

Derek Irby, executive director of the 165th Street Mall Improvement Association, said that “the Jamaica Colosseum Mall has been the anchor of the pedestrian mall for years.”

“We hope that if the sale goes through, [the buyer] will add to the value of the new downtown Jamaica,” he said.

“It’s a prime spot that can be converted into a major type of store,” Irby noted.

It was not clear what would happen to the merchants.

The listing comes amid numerous changes planned for downtown Jamaica, including new hotels, retail and housing developments.

In October, Flushing-based developer Chris Xu paid $22 million for a property with 720,000 square feet of development rights on Archer Avenue and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, where he is planning to build market-rate housing along with retail.

A property located near the AirTrain, which houses a longtime seafood company, has been recently listed by real estate firm CPEX for $24 million. 

Vincent Koo of Exit Kingdom Realty said that current prices in the area indicate that “developers see that money is going into [the] direction of Jamaica.”

“The first one there is the one that is going to make the most,” Koo said.  “And once there is a buzz, you are going to see others following.”

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