Metro

Thor goes shopping in Bensonhurst

Thor Equities Developer Joe Sitt is getting back to his retail roots and proposing construction of a new 214,000-square-foot shopping center at 1752 Shore Parkway.

The Amboy Bus Company is currently using the site to store its school buses.

Plans to construct space for a new BJ’s Wholesale Club and three other retail stores between 24th Avenue and Bay 37th Street will get a hearing at the Department of City Planning on October 29.

Community Board 11 is now reviewing the proposal.

The applicant is seeking to amend the current M3-1 zoning designation to a more restrictive M1-1 manufacturing classification, as well as obtain a number of special permits.

“In the long term it would be better for the area,” Community Board 11 District Manager Marnee Elias-Pavia said.

The new project also needs approvals from federal and state agencies.

A spokesperson for Thor declined to comment on the proposed shopping center, saying only that the plan is in the beginning stages of going through the public rezoning process and that the developer looks forward to “sharing details about this exciting project at the appropriate time.”

“We’ve already had many calls from people inquiring about when the new BJ’s is coming,” Elias-Pavia said.

In addition to a two-story, 56-foot-tall building to house the retail outlets, Thor is also proposing to construct a three-level garage with room for 690 parking spots.

About 97,000 square feet of publicly accessible waterfront open space is also being proposed.

Thor Equities and the Bloomberg administration have yet to ink a deal on Sitt’s Coney Island property located inside the heart of the amusement district.

The city wants the land as part an ambitious rezoning effort it hopes will ignite construction of a new, year-round tourist destination.

Sitt says he wants to build his own glitzy new amusement park on the site.

City Councilmember Domenic Recchia has been supportive of Sitt’s efforts in the past.

He could not be reached for comment about Sitt’s proposal to build a new shopping center on Shore Parkway.