RKO Keith’s developer finds financial partner

The owner of a long vacant Queens movie house has found a financial backer to help overhaul the property, the Daily News has learned.

Rumors have been swirling in Flushing that the historic RKO Keith’s theater, which has sat vacant for more than 20 years, could change hands for the third time in a decade. There was also talk of a potential buyer already in contract to buy the theater less than two years after developer Patrick Thompson purchased the Northern Boulevard property.

But Mike Nussbaum, a representative for Thompson, said on Monday that the developer is not only sticking by the plan, but has found a partner to help get his $160 million vision off the ground.

“He is still involved, still bullish on doing this project,” Nussbaum said of Thompson, who snagged the foreclosed property for $20 million in 2010.

Nussbaum would not name the backer and only said the partner is based in the U.S.

The plan calls for a 17-story tower with 357 rental units, 360 parking spaces and retail space. It would also preserve the theater’s landmarked lobby, gutted two decades ago by infamous developer Tommy Huang.

Nussbaum said Thompson and the unnamed backer have inked a partnership deal and work can begin sometime this year.

Preservationists are skeptical that work could begin so soon.

“He’s not going to have a shovel in the ground by the end of the year,” said Jerry Rotondi, president of the Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s Theatre of Flushing. He said the group, which he has headed since the 1980s, will remain vigilant until the project is completed.

“Then we can rest easy,” Rotondi said, reflecting the doubt that surrounds the on-again, off-again development prospects over the last two decades.

Rotondi and other supporters have watched as Thompson’s predecessors unsuccessfully tried to redevelop the once stately movie palace.

“RKO Keith’s has been sold more times than the Brooklyn Bridge,” said State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing).

Nussbaum urged his client’s detractors to be patient.

“People are so anxious for this to fail,” Nussbaum said. “It is a very difficult project to put together in this climate.”

With funding in place, there would be little else standing in the project’s way.

A zoning variance, which was needed to build the project, was set to expire in January but the approval was extended until 2016. That extension stipulated the project must get the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The project, which is located near LaGuardia Airport, received approval from the FAA in December.

vchinese@nydailynews.com

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