NEW YORK CITY—A transaction that Colliers International's Robert Freedman calls "a game-changer for Flushing" put a Manhattan sized deal in the middle of Queens. Crown Acquisitions and the Benider Co. have signed a 99-year ground lease for a four-story retail building fully occupied by Macy's. The ground lease's aggregate value is likely to exceed $1 billion over the term of the lease, which marks the largest real estate deal in the neighborhood's history.

Co-chairman of the tri-state region for Colliers, Freedman and his colleague Steve Chasanoff arranged the 250,000-square-foot deal at 136-62 Roosevelt Ave. on behalf of Benider. Noting that the property is located near the eastern terminus of the number 7 subway line, which now runs to Hudson Yards on Mnahattan's West Side, Freedman says, "We no longer characterize Flushing as an emerging market. It has arrived."

Due to the market fundamentals and the scale of the project, "we were able to generate tremendous interest from institutional investors and nimble, entrepreneurial players in this redevelopment project," says Chasanoff, executive managing director with Colliers. "This property has incredible, long-term potential as a retail destination or for mixed-use redevelopment." Macy's, whose current lease at the property expires soon, reportedly has no plans to leave, although Crown's Isaac Chera told the Wall Street Journal that "we believe at some point in the near future the rents will be greater than what Macy's is paying."