BY BILLY GRAY

Dairy Queen, the confections giant owned by Berkshire Hathaway, intends to break into the Manhattan market, and will come one step closer when it opens its first Long Island store early next month, spokeswoman Samantha Krogfus told The Commercial Observer at RECon in Las Vegas yesterday.

While DQ did not dispense free ice cream at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and thereby avoided the spectacle of businessmen in suits lining up at the nearby Carvel station for a cup of vanilla with rainbow sprinkles on top, the company did draw curious attendees to its booth in the South Hall.

Ms. Krogfus manned the DQ booth entrance, and explained that Tom Trocchio, the head of new unit development for the northeast region, was unable to attend this year’s RECon. However, she said that the upcoming DQ at 5366 Sunrise Highway in Massapequa was not the last of the ice cream and fast food chain’s area expansion efforts. The company is already established in New Jersey and upstate New York, and has its sights set on the five boroughs.

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BY AL BARBARINO

Rockrose Development Corp. is in the process of demolishing seven dilapidated Long Island City warehouses to pave the way for the construction of what will become the tallest residential building in Queens, The Commercial Observer has learned.

The 50-story, 907,000-square-foot, 500-foot-tall building at 43-25 Hunter Street will not only be the tallest, but it will also feature 975 units – more units than any other residential building in Queens, the firm said.

“That means a lot of apartments with a lot of very amazing views of the city,” said Justin Elghanayan, who runs the company with his father, Henry. “Court Square is zoned very high, but all the areas around it are very low.”

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BY AL BARBARINO

Staten Island’s proposed Empire Outlets development project – and an accompanying 600-foot, $300 million ferris wheel – entered into the city’s six-month Universal Land Use Review Procedure yesterday.

If the zoning changes and special permits required for the construction of the development (and the giant wheel) are granted upon completion of the review, Brooklyn-based developer BFC Partners plans to break ground on the 340,000-square-foot mixed-use complex in the winter of 2014.

The development and outlet mall will reportedly feature 125 designer retail outlets, a 200-room hotel, restaurants, a playground, expansive water views and a sustainable six-acre roof visible from the harbor.

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BY MICHAEL EWING

Join the Real Estate Board of New York for a seminar on lease negotiations. Vice Chairman Michael Laginestra of CBRE will moderate the seminar.
Commercial Brokerage Division Lease Negotiation Seminar, REBNY Mendik Education Center, 570 Lexington Avenue, 8-10 a.m.; contact Desiree Jones at djones@rebny.com for more information.