Sergey Kadinsky
Written Works
October 30, 2008
This profile piece was published in the Queens Tribune's special edition "The A List of Queens."
Michael Lee Watches Flushing Grow
Michael Lee started his career in the construction business. A house here, an apartment building there... He arrived from Taiwan 23 years ago, settling in Jackson Heights. But it was in Flushing that he felt most comfortable, attracted to its bustling Asian vibe, and downtown area. Lee, 60, is the chairman of the F&T Group, a property management, real estate, and construction firm. From his office at the Queens Crossing mall, he can look westward at the Flushing River and the Willets Point industrial area. Following the successful opening of the mall in 2007, Lee looks at the western view with optimism.
He purchased land along the polluted Flushing River, seeking to transform the neighborhood’s waterfront. “Michael is a visionary,” said F&T president Michael Meyer. “He saw how important Flushing was before anyone else. It has transportation options and proximity to the airport.” Meyer also describes Lee as a workaholic. At the center of downtown Flushing, TDC Development & Construction, an arm of the F&T Group, remains committed to Flushing Commons, a $500 million project to transform a municipal parking lot into a 2 million square foot mixed-use project, with a one acre park at its center.
Worried that Flushing could become a victim of its success, Lee took a role in promoting the improvement of the Flushing LIRR station, and the Main Street subway station. Recipients of his philanthropy include the Flushing Town Hall, the Flushing Business Improvement District, and the Queens Botanical Garden.
His pride are his two daughters, one being an alumna of Stuyvesant High School, and another an alumna of Bronx Science. Both daughters followed their father into the field of real estate development. One of his daughters works at the Shanghai office for Tishman, while the other studies real estate at the Harvard Graduate School of design. Mr. Lee and his wife reside in Douglaston.
Sunny Chiu: The Business of the Flushing Boom
F&T co-chairman Sunny Chiu was also born in Taiwan, where his father owned the prominent Evergreen shipping company. His father also knew Lee’s father. While Lee is the visionary, Chiu, 50, handles F&T’s financial aspects, having started his career as a banker. Like Lee, Chiu hopes to see a revitalized Flushing River shoreline spanned by a Calatrava-style pedestrian bridge leading into a rezoned Willets Point.
The president of F&T, Michael Meyer proudly notes that Flushing Crossing is not a typical shopping mall. “Sunny’s wife Jennifer is Korean, and runs the Ah Rhee Soo restaurant in the mall,” Meyer said. “She is an entrepreneur.” Asian restaurants, an art gallery, and upscale clothing stores add a measure of sophistication to the largely immigrant neighborhood. The mall also boasts office condominiums, entertainment, and valet parking. Chiu has two children in college, and resides just across the city line in Great Neck. Chiu can be fund golfing when he is not at the office.
Looking westward, F&T envisions a World Trade Center for Queens. When asked if the idea is too grandiose in today’s uncertain market, Meyer noted that the proposal emerged as one of the top two finalists in among the six Willets Point redevelopment proposals being considered by the city. F&T has an office in Shanghai and hopes to act as a bridge between China and America. It already has a 23-floor Chinese embassy residence tower in Manhattan on its list of accomplishments. The company’s Willets Point proposal also includes room for hotels, a convention center, and office space.