From Department Store To Doctor’s Office: Major Rego Park Property Sold To Northwell Health

Sale Of Former Queens Boulevard Retail Giant Signals Possible Healthcare Expansion In Central Queens

For generations of Queens residents, the large retail complex on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park was simply part of the neighborhood landscape. Families shopped there for clothing, housewares, and back-to-school supplies. Over the years it housed Alexander’s, later Sears, and more recently Burlington and Marshalls.

Now, the long-vacant property is poised for a dramatic new chapter.

Real estate developer Steven Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, has sold the former department store site at 96-05 Queens Boulevard to Northwell Health in a deal valued at roughly $235 million. The purchase signals what many observers believe could become a major healthcare expansion in the heart of Queens.

The building itself is enormous—about 338,000 square feet—sitting on nearly six acres at one of the borough’s busiest intersections near Junction Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway. The property also includes a large multi-level parking structure, which once accommodated shoppers but could easily serve patients and medical staff if the site is redeveloped.

For much of the past year, the building has sat empty after its last retailers relocated nearby. The vacancy left a conspicuous gap in the commercial corridor of Queens Boulevard, an area that has seen steady residential growth but major shifts in retail.

Now, instead of racks of clothing and checkout counters, the site may eventually house something very different.

Northwell Health—the largest healthcare system in New York State—has been steadily expanding throughout the region. The organization operates dozens of hospitals and hundreds of outpatient facilities, including Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, just about a mile from the Rego Park property.

While Northwell has not yet publicly announced specific plans for the site, the size and location of the building make it a strong candidate for a large outpatient medical center, specialty clinic hub, or even a broader healthcare campus.

For residents of central Queens—from Forest Hills to Kew Gardens Hills, Rego Park, and beyond—the potential development could significantly expand local access to medical services.

The building itself has a long Queens story.

Originally constructed in 1959, the site became a major retail anchor when the department store chain Alexander’s opened there decades ago. At the time, the store drew shoppers not only from Queens but from Brooklyn and Long Island as well.

Ownership later became tied to Alexander’s Inc., a real estate company controlled by Steven Roth after a major financial restructuring in the 1990s. For nearly three decades, Roth held the property as part of that portfolio.

But as retail trends shifted and large department stores across the country struggled, the site gradually lost tenants. When the remaining stores closed and moved to nearby shopping centers, the building became a prime redevelopment opportunity.

Healthcare systems around the country have increasingly been purchasing former retail properties—large, accessible spaces with built-in parking and strong transportation access—to convert into medical campuses.

The Rego Park property fits that model almost perfectly.

Queens has seen tremendous population growth over the past two decades, and demand for healthcare services has grown along with it. Hospitals and outpatient centers across the borough frequently operate near capacity.

If Northwell moves forward with a large medical facility at the site, it could bring new services, hundreds of jobs, and long-term investment to the neighborhood.

For longtime residents who remember the property’s retail heyday, the transition marks the end of one era—but perhaps the beginning of another that may prove even more important to the community.

What once brought people to Queens Boulevard to shop may soon bring them there for something far more essential: their health.