— Manufacturer Supplies Sustainable Windows for New Transitional Housing Property —
QUEENS, NY, April 17, 2026 – Crystal Window & Door systems, the award-winning national manufacturer, continued to demonstrate its leadership in the commercial vinyl uPVC window market with its latest project, Magnolia Gardens. Located in Flushing, NY, at 39-03 College Point Boulevard, this new construction project provides 90 units of critically needed transitional housing for families and children without permanent homes. For the project, Crystal supplied top quality, highly energy efficient casement and fixed commercial vinyl uPVC windows from its premier MAGNUS line.
With frontage on both College Point Boulevard and 39th Street, the L-shaped structure has a colorful modern 6-story façade for its corner element, flanked by more traditional design 7-story components. As such, the building provides tastefully appointed apartments and amenities in a beautiful, dignified, and sustainable facility for housing-insecure families.
Unplasticized polyvinyl chloride, or uPVC, has been a common window frame material in Europe for decades. Now uPVC is popular with American architects and developers because it offers strength similar to aluminum frame windows with the superior thermal efficiency and sound attenuation of traditional vinyl windows.
“For several years, Crystal has been a national leader in the fabrication of windows with this superior material,” said Steven Yu, Crystal Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “With so many uPVC commercial vinyl projects across the country, it’s nice to supply this special project which benefits New York City residents in need of stable housing so close to our factory.”
Crystal’s commercial uPVC MAGNUS Series windows are a key component for the building’s environmental sustainability. The outstanding thermal efficiency of the Crystal MAGNUS windows contributes to the overall energy performance of Magnolia Gardens, designed to meet Enterprise “Green Communities” requirements and PHius Passive House design criteria.
Overall, the Magnolia Gardens project used 273 Crystal MAGNUS Series 4500 uPVC windows. Most were specified for wide or tall openings as multiple-lite units using master frames and impost mullions. The vast majority of these were combinations of inswing casements with fixed lites, HVAC louvers, or insulated panels. Individual MAGNUS Series 4500 casements and fixed picture windows were also supplied.
The Crystal MAGNUS Series 4500 uPVC in-swing casement windows for this project were specified with the product’s 2-⅜” depth frame option, and feature multi-point locks, sash perimeter compression seals, top quality Roto hardware, and optional window opening limit devices. The casements for Magnolia Gardens are AW-PG70 rated; even higher ratings for this product are also available.
In most openings for this project, the MAGNUS Series 4500 fixed window was flanked by or atop a MAGNUS Series 4500 casement window, combined using a T-mullion impost and common frame. The side-by-side arrangement spanned large building openings up to 72” wide by 72” tall, while the vertical arrangement was used in tall openings 48” wide by 82” tall. Both configurations afford great light and views for the building residents.
For a handful of openings, Crystal sourced and installed HVAC louver panels or aluminum insulated panels in place of fixed windows over casement windows. The 1” bronze color PTAC louver model AEL-42 panels were supplied by Reliable, of Geneva, AL, and the 1” bronze color insulated aluminum panels were supplied by Laminators of Hatfield, PA.
All the Crystal MAGNUS windows for Magnolia Gardens were outfitted with 1-¼” insulated glass units (IGUs). The dual-pane IGUs were specified with Cardinal low-E i89 laminated glass for the interior pane; depending on whether the IGUs are fitted with a window screen, either Cardinal LoĒ3-366 glass or bird-collision deterring Guardian DX-22 SNX 62/67 glass for the exterior pane. These IGUs provide outstanding thermal performance and safety, in keeping with the goals of new construction.
Installation accessories from Crystal for the new windows included T-bracket and strap anchors. All the window frames and sashes were finished with Brown 8972 smooth Renolit Exofol for interior and exterior surfaces.
Key players in the Magnolia Gardens transitional housing project include owner Asian Americans for Equity (AAFE) of New York, NY, which collaborated with Urban Resources Institute (URI), also of New York, NY, and New York City Department of Homeless Services to develop the project. The architect was Urban Architectural Initiatives, and the general contractor was Archstone Builders, both of New York, NY. The fenestration installation subcontractor was Luxintec, Inc. of Maspeth, NY.
Building amenities include a landscaped rear yard, community room, and 24-hour security. Magnolia Gardens is also pet-inclusive, with designated apartments set aside for pet owners. Mindful of the Asian-American culture of the families predominantly served by the property and the surrounding Flushing neighborhood, a Feng Shui consultant assisted with the building orientation, space planning, and color selection of exterior and interior components.
As a transitional housing facility, Magnolia Gardens provides unique supporting programs for residents, such as case management, housing navigation, job readiness training, financial coaching, and therapeutic counseling. Other major programs utilize the building’s STEAM-based empowerment center and FabLab digital fabrication learning center.
