[1][2] The store, described in The New York Times as the "first of its kind" in the U.S.,[1] was to be a three-story building surrounded by five parking decks.

[3] The building was designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and erected by Walter Kidde Constructors.

The real estate private equity firm had previously acquired a 49% stake in the Forest City portfolio in 2011 and purchased the remaining 51% in 2017.

However, Mary Sendek—the owner of the corner house at 55th Avenue and Queens Boulevard—held out and refused to sell the property, her childhood home.

The mall was reconfigured with a small notch on one corner, to accommodate the air space associated with Sendek's property.