NEW YORK CITY-As residential growth continues to boom in the city’s outer-boroughs, urban retail owner/manager Crown Acquisitions is putting its chips on Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The company has invested $20 million in retail assets in Greenpoint, Corona and Eltingville—and has already leased them up.

“Many people underestimate the strength of the outer-boroughs,” says Isaac Chera, president of Crown Acquisitions. He tells GlobeSt.com that the firm looks for strong retail streets in various neighborhoods with heavy pedestrian traffic, easy transportation access and strong demographics.

“It really has to be impressive,” he says. “We look for the building that has the greatest visibility or whether it is near a subway or bus stop. It has to have good frontage and have the ability to really stand out.”