Queens Place

Queens Place is an urban shopping mall in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. It occupies a prominent site on Queens Boulevard between 55th and 56th Avenues, immediately northwest of the larger Queens Center mall. The property is bounded by Queens Boulevard, 55th Avenue, 56th Avenue, 90th Street, and Justice Avenue, and is served by a multilevel parking structure and a principal entrance facing Queens Boulevard. The building originated as an experimental department-store project developed by R. H. Macy & Co. Macy's announced the project in 1964, describing a planned circular store as an unusual format for the United States. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and constructed by Walter Kidde Constructors, the approximately 330,000-square-foot structure opened in 1965. Its design was shaped by the surrounding urban site. The original concept called for a completely round building, but Mary Sendek, who owned a house at the junction of Queens Boulevard and 55th Avenue, declined to sell her property. The building was consequently modified to preserve the property and its associated air space, producing a distinctive notch in the otherwise rounded form. Sendek remained in the house until her death in 1980. Macy's occupied the building for approximately three decades. The department store's Queens retail strategy changed when a Macy's location opened in the nearby Queens Center development. The Queens Place store was subsequently converted to Stern's, another department-store brand controlled by Federated Department Stores. Stern's operated at the site until 2000. After Federated discontinued Stern's, the property was sold in May 2001 to Forest City Ratner. The new owner expanded the structure by adding two floors and repositioned it as a multi-tenant shopping mall rather than a single department store. Queens Place has since operated as a neighborhood-oriented retail center with a combination of large-format anchors, specialty retailers, restaurants, financial services, and everyday shopping providers. Its current or recently identified anchor and major tenants include Target, Macy's Furniture Gallery, Macy's Backstage, and Lidl. Smaller and specialty tenants have included Mattress Firm, Skechers, Cold Stone Creamery, Mrs. Fields, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Teriyaki One Japanese Grill, and Citibank. Former tenants listed for the property include DSW, Best Buy, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, and Stern's. Ownership changed again on December 22, 2017, when Madison International Realty acquired Queens Place from Forest City Realty Trust. Madison had previously acquired a minority interest in Forest City's portfolio and then purchased the remaining interest. In April 2018, Natixis refinanced the property with a reported $100 million loan. These transactions reflect the mall's status as an income-producing urban real-estate asset rather than a publicly listed consumer brand. The property continues to serve the densely populated Queens market. In January 2025, Macy's Backstage was reported as part of Macy's planned nationwide store closures, but the Queens Place location ultimately remained open and became permanent rather than proceeding with a closure. In June 2026, Target announced plans to relocate its Queens Place store to the nearby Rego Center, with the move scheduled for 2028. Queens Place therefore remains active, although its tenant mix is subject to the normal turnover and repositioning pressures affecting urban shopping centers.

Queens Place began as a department-store development rather than as a conventional enclosed mall. In 1964, R. H. Macy & Co. announced plans for a circular Macy's store on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, Queens. The project was presented as an innovative American retail format: a three-story building surrounded by five parking decks and designed to accommodate large-scale automobile-oriented shopping within a dense urban setting. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the building, and Walter Kidde Constructors erected it. The approximately 330,000-square-foot structure opened in 1965. The building's unusual shape was partly determined by a property dispute. The original plan called for a completely round structure, but Mary Sendek, the owner of a corner house at Queens Boulevard and 55th Avenue, refused to sell her childhood home. The project was redesigned around the property and the related air space, leaving a small notch in the building's perimeter. Sendek continued living there until her death in 1980, making the house a notable element in the site's architectural history. Macy's operated the location until the mid-1990s. After Macy's of Elmhurst moved into the nearby Queens Center development, the Queens Place building was converted to Stern's. The change was connected to Federated Department Stores' restructuring of its department-store portfolio, including the dissolution of Abraham & Straus and later Stern's. Stern's occupied the building until 2000. Following the discontinuation of Stern's, Federated sold the property in May 2001 to Forest City Ratner. Forest City Ratner transformed the former department store into Queens Place Mall. The redevelopment added two floors and created a multi-tenant shopping center with large-format stores, specialty retailers, restaurants, and services. The property thereby shifted from a single-brand department store to a diversified neighborhood retail destination. Its tenant history includes Best Buy, DSW, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, and Stern's, while later and current listings identify Target, Macy's Furniture Gallery, Macy's Backstage, Lidl, Mattress Firm, Skechers, Cold Stone Creamery, Mrs. Fields, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Teriyaki One Japanese Grill, and Citibank. On December 22, 2017, Madison International Realty acquired Queens Place from Forest City Realty Trust. Madison had previously acquired a 49 percent interest in the relevant Forest City portfolio in 2011 and purchased the remaining 51 percent in 2017. Natixis provided a reported $100 million refinancing for the property in April 2018. The mall has continued operating as a local shopping center in a competitive Queens retail environment. In 2015, Macy's Backstage opened at the property. A 2025 Macy's closure announcement initially appeared to place the store at risk, but the reported closure did not occur; the location remained open and became permanent. In June 2026, Target announced plans to move its store to Rego Center, a nearby mall, in 2028. The announced relocation represents a future change to Queens Place's anchor mix, but does not itself indicate that the mall is closing.

• 2026

  Target announces a planned 2028 relocation

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Target announced that its Queens Place store would move to nearby Rego Center in 2028.

• 2025

  Macy's Backstage remains open

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Although initially included in a Macy's closure plan, the Queens Place Backstage store did not close and continued as a permanent location.

• 2018

  Property refinancing

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Natixis refinanced Queens Place with a reported $100 million loan.

• 2017

  Madison International Realty acquires Queens Place

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Madison International Realty acquired the property from Forest City Realty Trust on December 22.

• 2015

  Macy's Backstage opens

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Macy's Backstage began operating at Queens Place as an off-price retail component.

• 2001

  Forest City acquires and redevelops the building

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Forest City Ratner purchased the former department-store building and converted it into the multi-tenant Queens Place Mall, adding two floors.

• 2000

  Stern's leaves the property

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Stern's, which had replaced Macy's, moved out as Federated Department Stores discontinued the brand.

• 1995

  Macy's era ends

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Macy's ceased occupying the building after its Queens retail presence shifted to the nearby Queens Center location.

• 1965

  Original Macy's building opens

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The approximately 330,000-square-foot building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill opened as a Macy's department store.

• 1964

  Macy's announces the Queens Boulevard project

  [1]Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org

  R. H. Macy & Co. announced plans for an unusual circular department store in Elmhurst, Queens, surrounded by multilevel parking facilities.

An urban, convenience-oriented shopping center serving Elmhurst and surrounding Queens neighborhoods, combining large-format national retailers with grocery, home, apparel, food-service, and personal-service tenants.

• General merchandise

  Target

  A large-format general merchandise tenant offering household goods, apparel, electronics, groceries, beauty products, and other everyday retail categories. Target has been one of Queens Place's principal anchor stores, although its announced relocation to Rego Center is planned for 2028.

• Furniture and home furnishings

  Macy's Furniture Gallery

  A Macy's-branded furniture and home-furnishings offering serving customers seeking larger household products and interior items. It maintains the site's historical connection with Macy's while operating within the mall's later multi-tenant format.

• Off-price department-store retail · 2015

  Macy's Backstage

  Macy's off-price format offering discounted apparel, accessories, home products, and related merchandise. The Queens Place location opened in 2015 and remained open after a 2025 closure plan initially appeared to include it.

• Grocery retail

  Lidl

  A discount supermarket tenant providing groceries, packaged food, fresh food, household products, and other essential goods. Lidl broadens Queens Place's role beyond discretionary shopping and supports regular neighborhood visits.

• Specialty retail, food service, and neighborhood services

  Specialty retail and services

  The center also accommodates smaller tenants and service providers, including Mattress Firm, Skechers, Cold Stone Creamery, Mrs. Fields, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Teriyaki One Japanese Grill, and Citibank. These businesses complement the anchor stores with footwear, mattresses, desserts, prepared food, and banking services.

• 2026

  Target relocation decisionStrategy

  Background

  Target announced a planned move from Queens Place to the nearby Rego Center.

  Action taken

  The Target store is scheduled to relocate in 2028.

  Aftermath

  If completed, the move will remove one of Queens Place's major anchor tenants and require the property to manage a future change in its retail mix.

  Source

• 2017

  Sale to Madison International RealtyM&A

  Background

  Forest City Realty Trust owned Queens Place as part of a broader real-estate portfolio.

  Action taken

  Madison International Realty acquired the property on December 22, after previously holding a minority interest in the relevant Forest City portfolio.

  Aftermath

  Queens Place continued operating under new real-estate ownership, with Natixis later providing refinancing.

  Source

• 2001

  Conversion from department store to multi-tenant mallStrategy

  Background

  The departure of Stern's left a large former department-store building without its principal occupant after the closure of the brand.

  Action taken

  Forest City Ratner purchased the property, added two floors, and repositioned the building as Queens Place Mall with multiple retail and service tenants.

  Aftermath

  The property changed from a single-store department-store format into a diversified urban shopping center.

  Source

1. 1Queens Place Mallen.wikipedia.org