Auto Parts Chain Wants LIC Rezoning For New 7-Story HQ, Plans Show

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Western Queens's industrial past and its high-rise future are colliding in a new proposal to build a corporate headquarters for the auto parts company Parts Authority, according to newly filed plans.

The nationwide chain wants to rezone a half-block site on 37th Avenue between 21st and 22nd streets in Dutch Kills, in order to build a seven-story office building with one of its own stores on the ground floor, according to an application filed last week with the City Planning department.

The block is already home to a one-story warehouse owned by Parts Authority, and is surrounded by similar auto shops. To construct the new building, which would serve as its company headquarters, Parts Authority would need the city to change the site's zoning to higher-density manufacturing use, according to the plans.

If approved, the new 113-foot-tall building would contain a cafeteria, auto parts shop, loading docks and freight elevators on street level; light manufacturing spaces on the second through fifth floors; and offices on the sixth and seventh floors. Two more stories below street level would house 58 parking spaces.

An environmental study included in the rezoning application found the new building would not have a "significant adverse impact" on the surrounding area, though it would likely cast new shadows on nearby Sixteen Oaks Grove and the P.S. 111 Playground, and may add about 55 daily vehicle trips during peak weekday hours.

Parts Authority was founded in 1973 on Long Island, and now has more than 250 locations across the U.S., describing itself as "one of the country’s largest distributors of automotive and truck parts."

Its headquarters are still on Long Island, and the plans do not specify whether the company would move its operations to Queens. Besides the site of the rezoning, Parts Authority also has an existing shop about two blocks away on 38th Avenue.

Parts Authority appears to have owned the site since 2012, when an LLC tied to the company paid $3.5 million to acquire it, city records show.

Once it is certified, the rezoning will need to pass through the city's six-month ULURP review process, which will include hearings held by Community Board 1 and the Queens Borough President's office.

If approved, the developers hope to open the building by 2026 after 18 months of construction, according to the plans.