Sometimes less is more.
Furniture retailer Raymour and Flanigan is moving to a new location and plans to cut the number of parking spaces there by half — but don’t worry, the store’s lawyer told Community Board 18, the new place will still have more spots than the current location.
“There is a dramatic increase in the parking, and that’s with the reduction,” said attorney Ariel Holzer at the March 15 meeting.
Plans are to reduce the number of spots at the new site from 144 to 72, but that will still provide more than three times the amount of parking than the store’s existing 22-car lot.
Raymour and Flanigan leases its current Flatbush Avenue space between Avenues U and V, but the mattress and furniture store will own the building it plans to construct from the ground up between Avenue V and Hendrickson Place. It plans to rent out the ground floor to other retailers, but cannot say which ones are in talks, a spokeswoman said.
The current lease ends in 2018, and store officials are looking forward to a more permanent home in the community, said the company’s real estate development director.
“That showroom is owned by someone else, we are the tenant there. But we love this neighborhood, and we love being good neighborhoods in this neighborhood, and we love selling furniture in this neighborhood,” said Adam Fumarola. “We’re really excited about this new building.”
The store plans to hire locally, and aims to be a boon for the community by hosting various civic and charity events in its showroom, said Fumarola.
“Our goal is to hire local folks. The plan would be to transfer all of the existing associates at the existing facility over to this new facility, and then to the extent we need new folks, our first look is to the community,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for us to have community events inside the showrooms, it’s not uncommon for us to have charitable events inside the showrooms, intended to benefit the community.”
The Department of Buildings has not yet given Raymour and Flanigan the green light for the new building yet, city records show, but the board unanimously voted 23–0 to approve the application to cut the parking on March 15.
There are currently no plans filed for the chain store’s current space once it moves out, according to city records, but it’s zoned for car lots, gas stations, and other commercial uses.
