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Ex-Strip Club Could Become Queens' First Drive-Thru Starbucks

 A rendering of a new retail space planned for Queens Boulevard which will include a gym and a drive-thru coffee shop.
A rendering of a new retail space planned for Queens Boulevard which will include a gym and a drive-thru coffee shop.
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Winick Realty Group

QUEENS — It's a new type of grind for Queens Boulevard.

A drive-thru Starbucks — the first in Queens — is being eyed to perk up the site of a long-shuttered and notorious strip club in Rego Park, part of a retail complex also includes a gym, sources said.

The two-story retail space is planned for 92-77 Queens Blvd., where Goldfingers — a strip club that closed in 1999 after numerous complaints from residents and elected officials — was located.

Sources said that the deal for the Starbucks has not been finalized, but if it is the java joint would be the third location in the city with a drive-thru.

A store locator map for the coffee chain shows that there is one in Tottenville, Staten Island. There is also a drive-thru location on Cropsey Ave. in Coney Island.

Starbucks did not confirm the information.

Christopher Okada, president of Okada & Co. who represents the developer — Atlas Projects Inc. — said the retail project was more feasible than a residential tower and that there has been a lot of interest in the space from various companies.

The new 26,000-square-foot structure will include a 16,000-square-foot gym on the second floor and the coffee shop on the ground floor, according to Winick Realty Group, the retail broker for the property.

Sources said Retro Fitness will be the gym in the complex. Retro Fitness did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Approximately 8,000 square feet of space at the site is still available, according to Robert Heicklen of Winick Realty Group.

Last year, the developer paid about $40 million for a 49-year lease with an option for another 49 years to develop the site, located near the Long Island Expressway.

The plan also includes providing 42 parking spaces in the basement. Six additional parking spaces would be located on the street level, Heicklen said.

According to the Department of Buildings, there is a stop work order on the property, which was issued in 2010 for work being done without posted permits and with a partially obstructed exit.

But Heicklen said he expects the issue to be resolved soon and the new building to be completed by June 2015.