Long Island City Development

[BrooklynLove]

zinka - I'm not going to debate this with you - you'll see eventually how this works out.

[BrooklynLove]

Btw zinka, i hope you're right and I'm wrong but I just don't see this project is feasible right now. The city can't afford it.

[ASchwarz]

BrooklynLove, this is a capital budget item. It's already paid for.

The current fiscal problems are irrelevent to something that's already paid for.

[BrooklynLove]

It's not paid for until work gets done and workers get paid. There seems to be this conception that funds never get diverted when necessitated by a changing landscape. The revenue projections underlying this budget have been crushed and additional bond issuance right now is no longer a simple matter. I hope you two are right but I'm not holding my breath.

[kyle]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03012009/news/regionalnews/queens_getting_a_royal_upgrade_157550.htm

[BrooklynRider]

QUEENS GETTING A ROYAL UPGRADE


By ANGELA MONTEFINISE

March 1, 2009 --
Welcome to new New York.

The Queens waterfront is set to get a vertical makeover by 2020, with dilapidated factories and vacant lots transformed into a Manhattan-like skyline of high-rises sprinkled amid sprawling parks, leafy esplanades and a "greenway" that will let joggers and bikers follow the East River all the way through Queens and Brooklyn.

"I believe the future of New York City design is in Queens," said architect Jay Valgora, whose Studio V has designed many of the projects. "The waterfront of Queens will be the new Central Park for this city. That's where the future of New York lies."

The latest blueprints outline Hallett's Point in Astoria, a seven-building complex by developers Lincoln Equities and Grosvenor Investment Management that will offer 2,400 apartments, a waterfront promenade and park, and 60,000 square feet of retail.

The centerpiece structure will be 40 stories tall, with the six other buildings rising from 19 to 32 stories.

The initiative, which would replace a series of vacant, crumbling factories, is in its early stages, but has letters of support from numerous community groups. If all goes according to plan, it would be finished by 2016.

"This area of waterfront has not just been underutilized, but it has been absolutely unused for as long as I can remember," said Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens), who is reserving judgment on the project until he hears from the public.
http://speed.pointroll.com/PointRoll/Media/banners/trans.gif?PRAd=1186273&PRCID=1186273&PRplcmt=701728&PRPID=701728

Also in the pipeline on the Long Island City waterfront is the multibillion-dollar Hunters Point South project, which will bring 5,000 units of housing, a school and a public park by 2020.
Thousands of other units are slated at Silvercup West, the partially built Queens West and the six-building River East, which will boast a waterfront playground and rock garden.
Also on the drawing board is the massive residential project Anable Basin in Long Island City, where moored barges will house such surprising perks as a swimming pool, a garden and a community theater.
"Growing up in Queens, the waterfront was completely cut off," said Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens), who has helped secure funding for the greenway. "The waterfront today gives New York an opportunity to get it right."

[BrooklynLove]

This article uses more realistic (yet still optimistic) timelines.

[BrooklynLove]

zinka, AS - this an example of why i'm skeptical.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs047/1101992539878/archive/1102484357995.html

[zinka]

zinka, AS - this an example of why i'm skeptical.


It's fine to be skeptical, but you presented your skepticism as fact.

[BrooklynLove]

Fair point.

[zinka]

Queens Plaza is on the list of projects that got stimulus money. So now I'm nearly certain it's happening. Good news.

[kyle]

Queens Plaza is on the list of projects that got stimulus money. So now I'm nearly certain it's happening. Good news.

I know it's a separate project, but the Jackson Avenue rehab is coming along nicely!

[Merry]

Meier Model Museum Reopens to the Public

By Mason Currey (http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/author/mason/)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:52 pm

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/richard-meier-model-museum-018pub.jpg
Photos, Scott Frances/courtesy Richard Meier & Partners Architects

In two weeks, Richard Meier (http://www.richardmeier.com/) will once again begin welcoming visitors to his Long Island City model warehouse, a 3,600-square-foot studio filled with more than a hundred architectural mock-ups spanning the Pritzker Prize winner’s 40-year career. Meier first opened the space to visitors in 2007, when, as he told the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/arts/design/26meie.html), he realized that “to have all this and have no one see it is kind of crazy.”

Visitation is by appointment on alternate Fridays beginning May 1; to schedule an appointment, call Richard Meier & Partners Architects at 212-967-6060. Check out more photos of the warehouse after the jump (http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20090415/meier-model-museum-reopens#more-4958).

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sfrances_080923_0145_opta-copy.jpg

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/sfrances_080923_0034_f_opt1pub.jpg

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/richard-meier-model-museum-027pub.jpg

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20090415/meier-model-museum-reopens

[BrooklynRider]

1.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/th_DSCN1103.jpg (http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/?action=view&current=DSCN1103.jpg)

2.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/th_DSCN1109.jpg (http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/?action=view&current=DSCN1109.jpg)

[Merry]

July 29, 2009

Cleaning the Grit Off Long Island City

By J. ALEX TARQUINIO

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/07/29/business/29queens01-600.jpg

Long Island City is about to get a face-lift. The city and federal governments plan to pour more than $75 million into sprucing up this section of Queens, which sits directly across the East River from Midtown Manhattan.

City Hall has been trying for years to transform the aging industrial district into a mixed-use community with office, residential and retail development.

The neighborhood is served by eight subway lines, which certainly makes it convenient. But the transportation infrastructure can also be overwhelming. Elevated subway tracks crisscross Long Island City, while Manhattan-bound traffic clogs the roadways that converge onto the Queensboro Bridge.

The mayor’s office and the New York City Economic Development Corporation say they have a plan to tame the snarling traffic and render the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly.

“We’re going from gritty to green,” said Tracy Sayegh, an assistant vice president at the Economic Development Corporation, who is in charge of the streetscape project, which will break ground next month.

The improvements will include planting more than 500 trees and creating open space, constructing landscaped traffic medians, installing crosswalks at dangerous intersections, increasing street lighting and adding park benches. The city expects to complete this work in 2011, using a combination of $22.5 million in city funding and $56 million in federal funding, including a recent infusion of federal stimulus funds.

Developers have long dreamed of turning the core of Long Island City — where Jackson Avenue connects Court Square and Queens Plaza — into a modern business district. Citigroup constructed the first major office building there in the 1980s. For many years, this 48-story glass tower seemed marooned amid a sea of low-lying warehouses and auto repair shops. Then, the city rezoned the district in 2001 to encourage more development.

Two new office buildings have sprouted since then. Citigroup did a sale-leaseback deal for its original tower, which is now owned by SL Green, a real estate investment trust. But the bank opened a second building on a former parking lot opposite its original tower in 2007. Citi owns the new 15-story 526,000-square-foot building, called Two Court Square . The bank occupies the whole building except for the ground floor, which sits vacant now and is being marketed as retail space.

Also in 2007, the United Nations Federal Credit Union opened a 16-story, 275,000-square-foot building, called Court Square Place, across 44th Road from the new Citigroup building. The credit union has offices from the second to seventh floor, and conference rooms and other amenities on the top two floors. The United Nations has leased four floors in the building, while three other tenants have taken one floor each.

This is the first new multitenant Class A building,” said Greg Smith, a broker at JRT Realty, who is the leasing agent for the building.

Besides these new buildings, the Long Island City office market consists mainly of converted warehouses or factories. New leasing activity has been very slow since the recession began in December 2007. Only a handful of new office tenants that have signed leases here since the beginning of last year.

In the past, companies have been attracted to Long Island City because the rents are a fraction of Manhattan prices. But office space — especially sublet space — has been flooding the Midtown office market recently, causing rents there to fall. Brokers say that this is making Long Island City a tougher sell.

“We are an overflow community, and there’s not much overflow from Manhattan now,” said John Reinertsen, a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis.

It has also been difficult to attract top executives to this neighborhood. The workers who have been relocated there tend to work in departments like accounting and information technology.

Earlier this decade, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tried a different tack. It moved into a 12-story, 700,000-square-foot renovated former airplane factory at 27-01 Queens Plaza North, right off the Queensboro Bridge. The management team — from the chief executive on down — commuted to Long Island City. MetLife reconsidered this decision, however, and moved many employees, including the chief executive, back into Manhattan in 2008.

The insurance company, which signed a 20-year lease for this entire building in 2001, still occupies about half of it. It has sublet 200,000 square feet to several companies, and is offering another 180,000 square feet for sublet on the entire sixth and seventh floors.

Despite the sparse leasing activity, the vacancy rate remains quite low. Of roughly seven million square feet, some 2.4 million is considered Class A space, or space in modern office buildings.

The Long Island City market as a whole has a 3.3 percent vacancy rate, although the Class A rate is only 1.3 percent, the according to Cushman & Wakefield. Annual asking rents for Class A space here are around $31 a square foot. But asking rents in Midtown Manhattan have fallen by more than 20 percent in the last year, to around $67 a square foot, down from $84 in the summer of 2008.

One new office building is under construction at Jackson Avenue and Queens Plaza Boulevard. Tishman Speyer Properties, a large New York developer, initially planned to build up to 3.5 million square feet of commercial space in a giant new development called Gotham Center. For the moment, though, it is building one 21-story, 660,000-square-foot building for the New York City Health Department.

Several other development projects that were planned during the economic boom appear to be on hold.

Rockrose Development, which has built residential buildings along the Long Island City waterfront, has assembled a parcel opposite the Citigroup buildings, where it could build up to 850,000 square feet of commercial space. But the developer has not said when it might begin construction. The three brothers who founded Rockrose are dividing up their company, which might further delay this project.

Silvercup Studios, a film and television production center in Long Island City, received approval in 2006 to build a large mixed-use project, with 650,000 square feet of commercial space, residences and sound stages. Three years later, the work has not yet begun. Alan Suna, Silvercup’s chief, said through a spokeswoman that he was committed to moving forward “in concert with the New York City marketplace.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/business/29queens.html

[ablarc]

All those underutilized subway stations! All that potential for density! All those parking lots! All those deserted sidewalks!

A location to kill for. This one's a sure-fire winning bet.

Why wasn't the zoning changed much sooner?

[zinka]

Jackson Ave streetscape project is looking good (though it's still in the early stages). There's a new median near the old courthouse, which should help calm traffic a bit. And it looks like they're building a new plaza near the Citicorp building.

[Merry]

That hotel design in Japan doesn't look very inspiring :rolleyes:. Citibank deserves a better neighbour than something like that.


Japanese firm plans largest borough hotel

August 28, 2009

By Adam Pincus

http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/113847/Toyoko_Inn_Nagano_Japan_articlebox.jpg
Toyoko Inn's hotel in Nagano, Japan

Despite the weak hospitality market, a no-frills Japanese hotel company is moving ahead with plans to build a 699-unit hotel across the street from the Citibank tower in Long Island City, Queens, which if built would become the city's largest hotel in the outer boroughs.

The hotelier Toyoko Inn filed an application this month with the Department of City Planning seeking approval for a floor area bonus in exchange for building subway improvements, according to agency documents.

The company bought the five parcels, with addresses 24-05 to 24-19 Jackson Avenue (http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/more-hotels-checking-into-long-island-city) near 45th Avenue, in October 2007 for $17.75 million, records show. In May 2008, the hotel filed plans with the city Department of Buildings for the towering structure.

Plans describe a hotel 385 feet tall with 699 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the outer boroughs and the 22nd largest hotel in the city. It will be 15 stories shorter than the 50-story Citibank tower nearby.

Currently the largest hotel in the outer boroughs is the 665-unit New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge at 333 Adams Street in Brooklyn, according to data from Smith Travel Research.

The floor bonus in exchange for improving transportation is available through a special zoning district created in 2001 in Long Island City in order to increase density in the commercial centers.

Calls to Toyoko Inn New York, the company listed as the owner, were not returned.

This marks the Tokyo-based company's first foray into New York City. The firm filed plans in September 2008 to build a 40-story hotel (http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/09/22/daily17.html) in Atlanta, Ga., according to news reports.

Hotel consultant Sean Hennessey, CEO of Midtown-based Lodging Advisors, who was not involved with the project, said although the market has been punished over the past year, it was beginning to hit bottom.

And any building in this early stage of planning would not be completed for several years, experts said.

Hennessey said construction in the neighborhood, which includes residential towers on the waterfront and a 600,000-square-foot building in Queens Plaza by Tishman Speyer for the city Department of Health, would create demand for hotel rooms.

"Long Island City could be an attractive hotel market in the future," he said. "Up until recently it did not look like a neighborhood but over time it is expected to improve. I could see why someone would have faith in that location."

Vijay Dandapani, chief operating officer of Apple Core Hotels, an operator of mid-range hotels in New York City, gave a bleaker assessment of the local market.

"It is mind reeling the number of projects" opening nearly every other month in the city, he said, where the number of rooms in the city is expected to jump by 10 to 20 percent in the next few years.

Anyone who believes the city needs more hotels is "living in some fantasy land," he said.

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/japanese-firm-plans-largest-borough-hotel-at-24-05-to-24-19-jackson-avenue-near-45th-avenue

[Merry]

Residents worry about river access, artificial turf at new 11-acre Hunters Point park

BY Brendan Brosh

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/12/01/alg_hunts_point_rendering.jpg
Artist’s rendering shows Hunters Point South development with 11-acre park, where officials plan bike paths,
waterfront promenade and boat-launch site.

A new 11-acre park is in the works as part of the Hunters Point South mega-development in Long Island City, officials said.

But some residents are concerned about river access and the use of artificial turf in designs recently unveiled to the public.

The park is to feature the rehabilitation of an old pier, two dog parks, a bike path, a fitness area, volleyball court, waterfront promenades, a toddler play lot, kayak launch and other amenities.

The most prominent feature of the project is a large pavilion and green that city officials said would be covered with artificial turf.

Parks Department officials said maintaining the egg-shaped green is easiest when it's an artificial surface - especially when compared with grass, which needs constant replanting and is magnet for certain birds.

"We believe that synthetic turf is the most playable surface," said Charles McKinney, chief of design of the agency's capital projections division. "We believe synthetic turf is less attractive to geese."

Using grass would require that the green be closed for long periods of maintenance, he added. A Parks crew would regularly wash the synthetic surface to keep it clean, McKinney added.

But that plan didn't sit well with some audience members at a recent public hearing.

"When someone goes to a park, they're expecting nature," said Tom Paino, a local architect. "On a very hot, sunny day, you won't be able to use it."

A Daily News investigation in July 2008 found that artificial turf surfaces at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park could get as hot as 162 degrees.

"Our first preference is natural grass," Community Board 2 Chairman Joe Conley said at the meeting. "But Parks needs to know who is going to provide the maintenance."

The park construction is slated to occur in two phases, with work on the northern portion starting first.

A pier for a water taxi to shuttle commuters to Manhattan and elsewhere is just to the south of the pavilion area.

Local kayakers said the proposed watercraft launch at the end of Second St., which is part of the second phase of the project, was incomplete.

"Currently there is no provision for the storage of kayaks," said Erik Baard, who has been active in opening up the river to recreational canoeists and kayakers.

The park also includes a passive recreation area with a small peninsula that offers views of neighboring boroughs, crushed stone footpaths and a lawn bowl for picnicking.

The project is slated for further review by the community board.

"The community is looking at the project with great excitement," said Christian Gabriel, of Thomas Balsley Associates, a landscape architecture firm working on the park. "We'll keep checking in with the community to make sure their concerns are heard."


http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/12/01/2009-12-01_plans_for_hunters_point_green_site_have_some_se eing_red.html#ixzz0YWi8dmLv

[ToastyPotato]

Yeah, I am not usually one to complain about any developments, but I kind of think turf would be a pretty bad idea...

[Merry]

CB 2 approves plans for park at Hunters Point

By Jeremy Walsh

The elaborate, 11-acre plan for a park at the new Hunters Point South development project moved past Community Board 2 last week, but not before board members insisted on natural grass for a large common area and requested the inclusion of a community boathouse.

All but two board members voted to approve the plan under the conditions that natural grass be used and a boathouse be included, but the two-hour hearing was marked by skepticism from board members and some animated opposition from Geoffrey Croft, president of the New York City Park Advocates, who criticized the city Parks Department for continuing to use artificial turf, warning about the plastic smell and the “intense heat” the material gives off in direct sunlight.

“We would not be installing anything in parks or playgrounds that is not safe,” Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said, noting grass turns into a “dust bowl” after months of constant use and reminding the board that a school is slated to be built across from the park.

But board members listened to complaints from neighbors like Tom Paino.
“Parks claims they will be out there washing it with disinfectant,” he said, referring to another resident’s worries that seagulls would roost on the green and defecate there. “Will they have the money to do this as often as required?”

Charles McKinney, the Parks Department’s chief designer, said community members around Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn fought against artificial turf and now they fight to use it.

“Think of me as the cheeky waiter who winks at you and says, ‘Don’t order the fish,’” McKinney said. “Don’t order the grass.”

CB 2 Vice Chairman Stephen Cooper summed up the majority of the board’s feelings, noting the common area would be too small for proper organized sports.

“You’ve decided to take this center, this jewel of the community, and you put plastic on it,” he said.

Board members also heard community activists like Erik Baard, founder of the Long Island City Community Boathouse, who said a boathouse for the launch planned at the end of Second Street was essential.

“A launch is really only good for people who have an alcove where they can store a boat,” he said.

Resident Rebecca Olinger said she sails in Whitehall gigs, which weigh 550 pounds and cannot be carried. She asked for a boat launch ramp.

The park is also slated to include dog runs for both large and small canines, a children’s playground, hard-surface ball courts, a canopied “pavilion” area with staff offices and a concession kitchen, sloped picnic areas, running paths, a raised beach area and a small boat launch at the extreme south end of the park.

The park would be constructed in two phases, with the active recreation-themed section adjacent to Gantry Plaza State Park slated for completion in the first phase. The entire 5,000-unit residential complex is expected to be done by 2017.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/cb_approvesplans_for_park_at_hunters_JtPrhGvwrHDaD a33fuTDdJ#ixzz0ZNX9uoCX

[Merry]

LIC real estate update: 7-story hotel breaking ground on Vernon Blvd

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4248162314_1e93aeb144.jpg
The beginnings of a new hotel on Vernon Blvd & 9th St, Long Island City

Meet the newest addition to Long Island Hotel City: a ‘new 7 story transient hotel’ is apparently going up on Vernon Blvd in the huge lot at 44-29 9th St, near 44th Dr – girders are already starting to peek up above the blue construction fence. The lot is across the street from the Board of Education building and around the corner from the lovely old red brick building that once housed Next Level Floral Design.

Moving south on Vernon, 10-17 Jackson is living up to its Studio V rendering at the corner of Jackson Ave.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/4248165362_57a222247f.jpg
10-17 Jackson with all of its silver/aluminum details, Long Island City

Most recently, the stainless steel shingles on the sides and what seem like the perforated aluminum screens on the facade have manifested, as well as the signature ‘prow-like’ protrusion on the very top. Interior renderings were released not too long ago, but the jury was still out on their decision to go rental or condo.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4247388499_3a722c917d.jpg
Linea gets its brick exterior on 44th Dr, Long Island City

With its general structure solidified, Silvercup’s Linea is actively being worked on between 21st St and 23rd St on 44th Dr. The most recent change is the actual burgundy/rusty-colored brick exterior being added over the gray cinderblocks.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2765/4247392363_643a946ed4.jpg
Shrouded East of East going up on Jackson Ave, Long Island City

The 8-story loft building known as East of East (http://eastofeast.com/) continues to go up over on Jackson Ave and 47th Rd, but is currently shrouded. New renderings on LICNYC (http://www.licnyc.com/2010/01/east_of_east_renderings.html).

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4247390273_fa130d81a1.jpg
Gotham Center scraping the sky in Queens Plaza, Long Island City

Tishman Speyer’s Gotham Center in Queens Plaza, the speediest construction we’re seeing in LIC right now, is growing faster than a pre-teen. It seems to be taller and glassier every time we check back.

http://www.liqcity.com/real-estate/lic-real-estate-update-7-story-hotel-breaking-ground-on-vernon-blvd

[TheInterloafer]

Visible from the north side of the LIRR, there is a new tower rising fast adjacent to Sunnyside Yard. Does anyone know what the name of this tower is? I couldn't tell if it's commercial or residential.

[RoldanTTLB]

It's probably Gotham Center. The last photo above is a pic of it. It's 22 stories and glass, with a curve on one side. It's going to be new offices for the Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene. It's the first of a few towers (much taller ones in fact) if it's successful.

[brianac]

Landscaping as a Seductive First Step

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/01/10/realestate/10post_CA0/articleLarge.jpg Arup/Thomas Balsley Associates/Weiss/Manfredi
WATER VUS A rendering of Hunters Point South, a proposed 5,000-unit housing development, shows a park with jetties along the waterside paths.

By ALEC APPELBAUM

Published: January 8, 2010

ON a quiet inlet of the Queens (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/classifieds/realestate/locations/newyork/newyorkcity/queens/?inline=nyt-geo) waterfront, where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/michael_r_bloomberg/index.html?inline=nyt-per) proposed putting up athletes for the 2012 Olympics, land is being cleared for a series of parks that will be the front lawn for a large midpriced housing development.

Hunters Point South (http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/developers/hunterspoint-south.shtml), to be built where the East River meets the Newtown Creek, kicked into gear in late December with the arrival of bulldozers. The 30-acre project, beginning with park and open space design, will eventually include 5,000 apartments and a ferry landing, said Joshua Wallack, who is managing the project for Robert C. Lieber, the deputy mayor for economic development.

The city expects to solicit developers’ bids for the apartments by summer, Mr. Wallack said. Under terms the city’s Economic Development Corporation (http://www.nycedc.com/Pages/HomePage.aspx) spelled out for the local community board last November, 3,000 of the apartments are to be affordable to families making incomes around the area’s median.

Apartments will be “mostly rental,” the city proposed. The most expensive of the subsidized units will cost roughly twice those set aside for middle-income tenants. The development will be a mix of town houses and apartments, Mr. Wallack said; towers will be as high as 400 feet. The waterfront parks are to serve first as a lure to developers and then to potential tenants.

“The city needed to signal to a fairly skittish development community that it’s serious about this project,” said Michael Manfredi, a partner in the New York firm Weiss/Manfredi, the landscape architects on the project along with Thomas Balsley Associates. “Unlike most projects, where open space follows housing and lots of charged debate, here the open space comes first.”

Mr. Manfredi, whose firm designed the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, showed a reporter plans for an oval lawn at one end of the property for soccer and sunset viewing, a small beach on the site of a seasonal bar, a ferry landing and paths along the marshes at water’s edge.

Marion Weiss, the firm’s other partner, says a rise provides an “Acropolean” view of the East Side skyline — and Mr. Manfredi described the setting as “surreal” and “Fellini-esque.”

He was referring to a design that calls for natural features unexpected in an urban landscape: a grassy hill, fields, trees at the shoreline and jetties that provide what Mr. Manfredi called “the wedding photo op.”

The site is near a school and a few blocks from the No. 7 train.
Mr. Wallack says the plans call for parking for only 40 percent of the residents. Garages will be above ground, he said, because an underground structure would interfere with the water table.

The attempt to limit cars may make the project less controversial than other major plans that Mayor Bloomberg has hatched — and the speed with which the site is being cleared signals the mayor’s keenness to build before his third term ends.

Two days before Christmas, in Weiss/Manfredi’s garment district office, a team worked into the evening under pinned-up contour maps and drawings. “When you see this many architects at work," Mr. Manfredi said, jokingly, “that means the project is happening.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/realestate/10post.html?ref=realestate

Copyright 2010 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html) The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[Derek2k3]

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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)


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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)


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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)


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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)


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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)


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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)


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Collin Erickson 83 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84431137@N00/tags/longislandcity/)

[antinimby]

This Robert Scarano designed project turned out very nicely.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2557/4232099228_16e71a7621_b.jpg

[kyle]

I agree. That's a great photo of it too! The Vere should use it in their marketing materials. :)

[RoldanTTLB]

So from this angle it's GREAT! But the huge exposed HVAC unit on the roof looks truly awful from other spots. I don't know why they left it exposed. or couldn't put it to the right of where it is or SOMETHING.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3549215031_33a71a2d0d.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/

[antinimby]

Huh? ^ That is actually one of the better, more creative and attractive ones I've seen. Looks like some kind of roof top pavilion.


Ugly mechanical enclosures look like this one, where it is nothing but just an ugly brick box:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4231326451_1802ddd4cd_b.jpg

[BrooklynLove]

Horrendous location also for that lump.

[Stroika]

And the building's location is nothing to crow about, either. It looks like it's situated at the enviable intersection of ... construction sites, Spanish-language signs for temporary cell-phone plans ... oh, and a high-way off-ramp. :(

[zinka]

What's the story with the weird exoskeleton on Vere? Is it a Scarano attempt to get around zoning or building codes, similar to the effort he made in Brooklyn on the Olive Park Condos?

[antinimby]

Exoskeletons are a good thing (see NY Times building, 3WTC, etc.). We need to see more of it on our buildings.

We've been brainwashed and accustomed into thinking anything different from the usual is weird or bad.

We need to get out from that kind of thinking or else all our buildings will be plain and unexceptional (like most of the ones, except the Vere, in the pics above)

[Meatslim]

at first glance, the vere looks decent but go inside. the materials and construction quality is really shotty. there are better buildings to be seen in the area.

[Derek2k3]

How do you guys feel about L Haus?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/3546526800_225b52d1c9_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2476/3790117438_fd4d586b81_b.jpg


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3332/3546532610_885b72744a_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2527/3790108852_754a2c0287_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2673/3789293823_b242c9139c_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2614/3789295671_298b1c9df7_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4266244395_39a1fe65bf_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2714/4266243797_bd6da9c1c6_b.jpg
liqcity (http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity/tags/lhaus/)

The projects in LIC convey why I hate NYC's zoning rules. The height limit here is silly, especially with number of transportation options to Manhattan.
The projects are squat, ugly and still out of scale with the rowhomes.

[lofter1]

How do you guys feel about L Haus?


Queasy.

Looks like the skin will start peeling off by Tuesday.

[antinimby]

McSam meets aluminum siding.

[scumonkey]

green around the gills

[ramvid01]

I have to say that in person it is not as flattering as in these pictures.

It definitely make you do a double take since it seems unfinished. I wouldn't call it McSam, since thats on a whole other level (exposed floorplates, huge concrete blank walls, none of which exist here) but I am not a big fan of the massing (but I suppose that has to do with the zoning).

[Meatslim]

I've seen it a few times. The interiors are actually quite nice and the yard came along pretty nice as well. I can't quite get over the exterior though. The green doesn't bother me, but you can already see it coming apart at the seams and rust stains coming from the vents.

[lofter1]

LOL ^

And I thought it was a joke to write that it looked like it was peeling apart before it was even finished.

Neo-retro take on trailer park architecture :cool:

[RoldanTTLB]

I'm iffy on the L-Haus, but boy do I love 10-63 Jackson. If I could buy a second condo, it'd be there.

[kyle]

10-63 is a great looking building, inside and out.

L-Haus is bad, inside and out.

I love the exterior of the Vere, just can't get past the construction. But the rooftop location of the gym, 3/4 of which is glass, is really cool. From there you can see the 10 bridges of NYC. That view won't last forever, but it's neat to get up there and look around.

[Derek2k3]

How'd you find out the 10 bridges thing? Are they using that to attract buyers?
It is a pretty interesting fact.

GWB
Hell's Gate
Triborough
Throgs Neck
Whitestone
Queensboro
Williamsburg
Manhattan
Brooklyn
Verrazzano

What a great collection of bridges we have. The new Kosciusko Bridge might earn being #11.

[kyle]

When I was up there I looked around and counted the bridges. I don't even think the sales people were aware of how many you could see on a clear day.

[BrooklynLove]

kyle lives.

[Merry]

High Above Subway Repairs in Queens, but Deafened Anyway

By FERNANDA SANTOS

The exhaust fans occupy a squat building that stands at an angle on 50th Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, in a narrow lot surrounded by brush and an iron fence, behind an elegant high-rise building half a block from the East River.

No one denies that they are a necessity: The fans clean the air in a tunnel for the No. 7 subway line when workers are making repairs, something that has happened a lot in the past few weeks and that will continue for several more weeks.

But the problem is that the fans come on without warning, mostly late at night, and stay on for hours, driving people to distraction because the noise makes sleeping virtually impossible.

Greg Hughes, who lives on the 21st floor in a building overlooking the fans, likens their sound to having a blender running at full speed on the pillow next to him. Mark A. Christie, who lives in the same building on the 25th floor, said they remind him of a jet engine’s roar just before takeoff.

“I wear earplugs, I put a pillow over my head, but I still can hear it,” said Nancy Haitch, who lives on the 11th floor of the building, Citylights, the first residential high-rise built in what was once an industrial wasteland.

The fans have been there since long before the shuttered factories and vacant warehouses of Long Island City began giving way to schools, restaurants and homes. They sound like a giant rattle shaken at great speeds, they are unrelenting and they follow no set pattern, running for an hour one weekend and for an entire night the next.

At River View Gardens, a subsidized housing complex for the elderly that sits right next to the fans, Osvaldo Cordero, the superintendent, said that at one time this month when the fans were on for 24 hours straight, “I had people coming up to me crying because they couldn’t get any sleep.”

People in the neighborhood have lodged complaints through the city’s 311 system and with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but to no avail.

So on Feb. 17, at a meeting with transit officials about weekend disruptions to subway service in the neighborhood, Edward L. Sadowsky, a former city councilman who lives on the 39th floor at Citylights, seized the opportunity to ask if the agency had come up with a solution for the fans’ noise.

“We haven’t been parading on the streets daily because this is sporadic,” Mr. Sadowsky, 81, said in an interview. “But I’ve been here 12 years already and in all this time, nothing has changed.”

At the meeting, transit officials said that it would cost $300,000 to muffle the noise, but that money would be hard to come by with the agency facing serious financial problems. The authority offered a reprieve last weekend: It instead turned on fans in Manhattan, on the eastern edge of Tudor City, according to a transit worker stationed by the fans in Queens.

“These are real people, and it’s real lives being affected,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents the neighborhood and organized the meeting. “We’re talking about sleepless nights here, not just an inconvenience.”

Weekend work on the 7 line began Jan. 29 and will continue every weekend until March 29, which also leaves the neighborhood without subway service.
Charles F. Seaton, a spokesman for New York City Transit, which operates the subway and bus service, could not say when the fans would come on during this period. “I don’t have the schedule in front of me,” he said in an interview.

Mr. Seaton added that while the agency has been considering a couple of alternatives to address the problem, “It would be a little bit premature to say what they are and how they would affect the fans’ noise.”

At Citylights — which has 42 floors and offers breathtaking views of the city — the noise has become the topic of conversation among neighbors who bump into one another in the lobby, in an elevator or at the lounge next door. And in some ways, it has brought them closer together.

Mr. Christie, an office manager who has lived in the building since 1997 when it welcomed its first residents, said that though he welcomes the camaraderie, he is more concerned with how the noise might be affecting his health.

“I find myself going to bed at night wondering if the fans will come on and wake me up,” Mr. Christie, 44, said. “This unpredictability is psychologically draining, and after a while, it really gets to you.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/nyregion/23fans.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[Derek2k3]

meh.

[RoldanTTLB]

Is that a new rendering for one of the next 2 towers, or is that a rendering for one of the as-yet-unseen final 2 towers? For reference, here's the most recent "shots" of the next two that were shown previously:

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3104/2677630718_756c5219e5_o.jpg

http://curbed.com/uploads/2009_4_ecmodel.jpg
And looking at this model, it might be this one.

[Meatslim]

what/where is that?


Is that a new rendering for one of the next 2 towers, or is that a rendering for one of the as-yet-unseen final 2 towers? For reference, here's the most recent "shots" of the next two that were shown previously:

http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3104/2677630718_756c5219e5_o.jpg

http://curbed.com/uploads/2009_4_ecmodel.jpg
And looking at this model, it might be this one.

[RoldanTTLB]

The photos are from Curbed, the models are sitting in the lobby at EC2 (you can just walk over and see them.). I wouldn't mind some new photos of them, but I'm not really around to be able to do that. I have some old photos floating around somewhere that I took when it was just EC1, EC2, and The View. It's funny because despite the numbering, they're working around the building sites in reverse order (7 first). I generally like the project, although it has too much parking.

[NoyokA]

2501 43rd Avenue:

http://www.showcase.com/reubenrhr@yahoo.com#&&/wEXAQURV29ya2Zsb3dIaXN0b3J5SUQFJDcyMjQ2ZDg4LTgwMjc tNDEwNS04NjQ3LWM2N2UyZTE3MGIzZINlqwcD0aTzFR73Dvvyc eY6NF8b

With the over supply of hotels in LIC this probably wont see the light of day, thankfully.

[ablarc]

Like it or not, zoning is presently the key to an area’s development.

The powers at Planning could recognize that Manhattan’s economic success means that its most immediate transit-connected outliers –Astoria and Long Island City—are the inheritors of a golden mantle.

But that mantle is presently Manhattan’s alone –and there’s not much good reason for this. The key is to lift the dead hand of zoning, so as to recognize that these two places are logically extensions of Manhattan’s zoning.

This means not much more than: tall buildings (preferably on small lots), mandated street walls, ground floor retail, and zero parking requirement.

With its great subway connections to Midtown, Long Island City should be the new Hoboken --only better.

[ablarc]

Oh, and if improved zoning generated better immediate streetlife, and if I were Sam Chang, I'd think of it as hotel heaven.

Fifty bucks less for the Holiday Inn Express than in Manhattan proper.

And with the revived streetlife: a strip club or two at a safer walk.

Gotta maintain the streetwall, the continuous retail; and gotta lose the parking lots. All of them.

[ramvid01]

The powers at Planning could recognize that Manhattan’s economic success means that its most immediate transit-connected outliers –Astoria and Long Island City—are the inheritors of a golden mantle.


I was just thinking that the other day myself. The way this part of Queens is zoned seems to me to be a complete waste since these buildings will be standing for at least 40 years. The zoning here could require less block busting towers, which seems to be the only thing that is rising in Queens West. A total waste of an opportunity.

[ALAU]

Want to warn everyone regarding TF Cornerstone. They are running a scam there. Entered into a deal w/ them (gave them $100 chk to hold the agreed offer) in purchasing a condo on LIC waterfront. Lawyer was already engaged and paid and contract was drafted up and sent. They were "dragging out" the process not signing to the agreed deal and meanwhile, in secret, readjusting the condo price. They eventually refused to honor the price at which they agreed and ask for 25% more in price. So if the unit is 1 Mil, they want 250K more. YUP. They are scamming people there. Accepted your offer, waited for you to spend time/resource/$ to get a contract going… then leave you hanging dry while looking for the next sucker to pay more for the same unit. beware.

[BrooklynLove]

The $100 was likely for a copy of the offering plan, not to hold an offer. There is no enforceable agreement until the purchase contract is signed - developer can walk away just like you can before signing.

[kyle]

Latest LIC article in the NY Times-

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/realestate/09cov.html

[BrooklynLove]

Nice coverage. It's all good if you got in at the right time. Not so much if you bought new construction there in 2007.

[ALAU]

the $100 was NOT for a copy of the offering plan, i checked. it was to hold the apartment so that they cannot sell it to someone else. tf cornerstone is nothing but a bunch of greedy lying bastards who operate their business in the most unethical and scamming way.

[RoldanTTLB]

People are still building in LIC? No way... Here's some pics... (sorry about any graininess, I'm running low on space on my picasa account and I wanted to maximize the number of photos I could upload)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yWvgPFulI/AAAAAAAAEDY/F1s0wA4c0nc/s800/IMG_0785.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yWw2pgX3I/AAAAAAAAEDc/YcX4RhYa1CE/s800/IMG_0786.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yWynikGjI/AAAAAAAAEDg/1fUq-glGhiY/s800/IMG_0787.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yW0pg2ntI/AAAAAAAAEDk/qme5Jc5J-VU/s800/IMG_0788.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yW2XeKPfI/AAAAAAAAEDs/C2cpCulArrA/s800/IMG_0789.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yW4qRymOI/AAAAAAAAEDw/fVpvawmhKYY/s800/IMG_0790.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yW6db6hUI/AAAAAAAAED0/iDLTedzyl3E/s800/IMG_0791.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yW8kGiBsI/AAAAAAAAED8/Ng_t4my6rQY/s800/IMG_0794.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yW-Lnb40I/AAAAAAAAEEA/r_L0DNFKOMs/s800/IMG_0795.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXAKnzE3I/AAAAAAAAEEE/nAXQXhwFPiA/s800/IMG_0797.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXBrdoNFI/AAAAAAAAEEI/Rsj6O_VBwvE/s800/IMG_0798.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXC84a36I/AAAAAAAAEEM/gNNX7frVeks/s800/IMG_0800.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXEsv6DAI/AAAAAAAAEEQ/oIsK-qCxML4/s800/IMG_0801.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXG-SxxcI/AAAAAAAAEEU/FRqf0BR9IGo/s800/IMG_0802.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXJCFR1JI/AAAAAAAAEEY/VqQlP6I7M8Q/s800/IMG_0805.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXKmKC4NI/AAAAAAAAEEc/PSEOiq-yLqo/s800/IMG_0813.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXMIGX8II/AAAAAAAAEEg/wQvmCSQ6nTw/s800/IMG_0814.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXN7Ig4KI/AAAAAAAAEEk/WrUVUP_wTtk/s800/IMG_0816.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXPNpmr8I/AAAAAAAAEEo/doT4gR8hAyQ/s800/IMG_0817.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXQ0GkNHI/AAAAAAAAEEs/cE6N4j4RkKs/s800/IMG_0820.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXSqXAqkI/AAAAAAAAEE0/m1XKKaz42W8/s800/IMG_0821.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/S_yXUdLetXI/AAAAAAAAEE4/p-tcoc7XJ_g/s800/IMG_0822.JPG

[antinimby]

That ^ last one looks good (even with the balconies, which is unfortunate). The rest are garbage.

[vanshnookenraggen]

The smaller scale stuff out there can be pretty interesting. The big stuff is shit.

[BrooklynLove]

Keep the ball rolling LIC. This is all very exciting.

[Meatslim]

http://www.muranolic.com/availability

murano finally hit the market. I think it's an interesting building. something different

[BrooklynLove]

Decent looking building but that's an awful location.

[RoldanTTLB]

You're right, it's an unfortunately bad location. Between the tunnel vent and the LIRR that would be almost too much, but they've also started work on HPS, and that's going to be 5 years of heavy construction out front as well. I'd like to get in the places and see how thick the glass is. I suppose if it's well done (ala Jcondo or the Fusion in LIC) it could be ok. It won't be the ass end of the nabe once HPS is built either.

[Meatslim]

I agree with both of you about the location. I think the north-facing units are a good option.

[Meatslim]

as for the sound, they claim to use a sound dampening curtain wall, which would lessen the sound to some degree. Last i checked though, they haven't sealed it yet. Once they do, or if they have already, then we'll know if it works.

[Merry]

City Proceeds With Big Middle-Income Housing Project on Queens Waterfront

By CHARLES V. BAGLI

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/06/07/nyregion/07hunters01_span/hunters1-articleLarge.jpg
Hunters Point South would be built on land by the East River that was once the site proposed for the 2012 Olympic Village.

After four years of planning and delays, the city will start soliciting bids on Monday to begin building what could become the city’s largest development for middle-income residents in 40 years.

The Bloomberg administration, which is heavily subsidizing the project, is asking developers to compete to build 1,000 apartments on a once industrial strip of Queens land known as Hunters Point South (http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/HuntersPointSouth/Pages/HuntersPointSouth.aspx), where Newtown Creek enters the East River.

At least 60 percent of the apartments would be reserved for families earning $63,000 to $130,000 a year. Although construction is not scheduled to begin until 2012, the project would mark the first section of a waterfront community of 5,000 apartments with shops, a school and a 10-acre public park.

Plans call for a mix of rental apartments and condominiums, with about 40 percent of the units going for market rates. The buildings would vary in height up to about 30 stories.

The city is making a substantial commitment to the project, having bought the land from the state last year for $100 million.

It has budgeted an additional $175 million for toxic cleanup, the park and a network of roads, sewers and electric lines, although only $60 million would be spent to prepare the first two parcels for construction.

Rafael E. Cestero, the city’s housing commissioner, said the city expected to provide about $90,000 for each of the first 600 subsidized units.

The city would continue to own the land, but the developers would own the buildings, and the subsidized apartments would permanently remain affordable for people in the middle-income range.

Neighborhood officials said they were pleased that the project was moving forward, although some housing advocates said the project would not address the needs of many Queens residents.

Adam Friedman, director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, a policy and planning group, said that because the median family income in Queens was $51,290 a year, “half the families in Queens” earn too little to be eligible for the subsidized units.

“We’re arguing that there have to be deeper subsidies so that the community that evolves out of this has economic diversity,” Mr. Friedman said.

But Mr. Cestero said the city needed to address the needs of the middle class, including teachers, firefighters and construction and health care workers.

“The vast majority of housing we create is for low-income families,” Mr. Cestero said. “But we also know that people with moderate and middle incomes have significant housing challenges. We don’t want them to have to leave the city to find housing.”

Jerilyn Perine, a former city housing commissioner who is executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Housing and Planning Council, said that not every project could address all of the city’s housing needs.

“We’re still a city where half the households are paying more than 30 percent of their income for rent,” Ms. Perine said.

She said Hunters Point South was a great project. “I’m a big fan of transforming the industrial waterfront,” she said. “It’s something that has to be done for the future of our city. There is, however, an upfront cost to doing that in time and money.”

Given the lull in residential construction since the recession, Mr. Cestero said the city was expecting that large-scale developers, like Avalon Bay, Douglaston Development, Related Companies and Gotham, as well as the city’s traditional builders of affordable housing, would compete for the first two construction sites at Hunters Point. The competition could result in a larger number of middle-income units.

“We believe that high-quality builders and developers are eager to come in and get started here as part of stimulating the market for housing,” Mr. Cestero said. “We’ll be looking for them to maximize the number of units for the least subsidy from the city.”

Both Ron Moelis, chief executive of L & M Equity, a developer of affordable housing, and Jeffrey E. Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, said they were interested.
But Mr. Levine said that the job might require the construction unions to agree to concessions to keep costs down.

“Even with the cooperation of organized labor, it’s a lift,” said Mr. Levine, who is completing a large luxury project on the Brooklyn waterfront (http://www.williamsburgedge.com/) that includes 347 units for families with low or moderate income.

“But with the proper package of infrastructure improvements and low interest rates,” he said, “it can happen.”

Hunters Point South would be the largest middle-income complex built in New York since Co-op City in the Bronx and Starrett City in Brooklyn in the early 1970s.

It is also where in 2005 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/michael_r_bloomberg/index.html?inline=nyt-per) wanted to build temporary housing for athletes as part of the city’s ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.

A year later, the mayor announced plans to build 5,000 units of subsidized housing for the middle class.

At that time, Mr. Bloomberg had come under criticism from housing advocates for not intervening in the sale of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, a sprawling middle-class enclave in Manhattan. A tenant group was outbid in 2006 by a private investor who paid a record-breaking $5.4 billion (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/nyregion/18stuycnd.html), but the venture is now in foreclosure.
City officials said at the time that they could build affordable housing in Queens for about $54,000 a unit, far more cheaply than in Manhattan. It has not worked out that way.

Joseph Conley, chairman of Community Board 2 in Long Island City, said his board had worked with city officials on the layout of the buildings, the school and the public park, which he said was badly needed in southwest Queens.

He said the board had asked the city to do something about increasing the capacity of the closest subway line, the No. 7, which is already crowded during rush hours.

Still, Jimmy Van Bramer, the City Council member whose district includes Hunters Point, said the project had “the potential to transform the area, which right now is either abandoned or underutilized land, and make it into a thriving community where people want to live.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/nyregion/07hunters.html?ref=nyregion

[vanshnookenraggen]

Just bike by there yesterday and wondered what was going on. I still think the plans are too "tower-in-a-park" but better than Co-op City.

[Derek2k3]

It would be a perfect spot for a pedestrian bridge connecting LIC to Manhattan. The city should have worked out an agreement between the developers of this project and Solow (the developer of the Con Ed site) to allow them to build bigger towers in exchange for a bridge. Can't believe how short-sighted and unambitious these proposals are.

[BrooklynLove]

That bridge would cost more than an entire high-rise building - at a bare minimum. Nice pipe dream but entirely unrealistic.

[Derek2k3]

The glass is quite nice for this.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4677710574_2036937ff9_b.jpg
Vim25 Vim25 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vim25/4677710574/in/pool-nyc_architecture)

[RoldanTTLB]

Just bike by there yesterday and wondered what was going on. I still think the plans are too "tower-in-a-park" but better than Co-op City.

I'm actually really impressed that this isn't the plan. I know there will be park on the waterfront, but in fact, they are extending the entire streetgrid into the area, and all of the buildings will form a street wall on the sidewalks. I'm not sure it could get more city and less towers in a park than that.

[RoldanTTLB]

More sweet sweet Gotham Center photos....

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TBkBRgsG1LI/AAAAAAAAELs/v76YkrjVYw0/s800/IMG_0927.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TBkBSOZuCeI/AAAAAAAAELw/MGv3eFpIu7A/s800/IMG_0928.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TBkBSaUYIiI/AAAAAAAAEL0/khOSf8iCaGs/s800/IMG_0929.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TBkBS4iopNI/AAAAAAAAEL4/iCsXnmBCp9k/s800/IMG_0932.JPG

[Derek2k3]

Distinctive and inspiring!

...watch out Shanghai.

[RoldanTTLB]

So while I actually really love the whole Gotham Center thing (hoping for the other tower!), it's very, eh, Arlington-esque. It's certainly got the NG vibe -

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/240/518083536_46c2f35b26.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74104660@N00/

[Merry]

Long Island City Condo Wars Heating Up

June 23, 2010, by Joey

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/2010_6_licnewbs.jpg

Earlier we pointed out that three new Long Island City condo buildings, all quite interesting in their own right, would be hitting the market around the same time. That time is right about now, and the competition for eyeballs and attention (and buyers, the Three Condoteers hope) is ramping up. Jackson Avenue's East of East, the one with the metal facade and art obsession, has already put some listings on the market in the $527,000 to $864,000 range. The building will be displaying LIC-inspired art starting this weekend, and in an e-mail to friends and family, the developers do a bit of boasting: "As we now have owners committed on three of our best units, you'll do better if you don't wait two weeks to get the VIP tour." Three sold before an official opening? Surely this chest puffing won't go unanswered by one of East of East's rivals!

Nearby is the angular 10-17 Jackson Avenue, the former mystery building now known as 1 Vernon Jackson. Sales in the 33-unit building are still by appointment only (apartments range from the $400s up to $1 million), but the building is having a "community preview" event next week, so all will be revealed soon. In the meantime, the development's full website has launched, complete with floorplans. Here are some highlights:

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1198/4728402280_e4476835cf_o.png
The 2BR/2BA 991-square-foot C-line apartments. Balcony mania!

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1198/4728402280_f071a3a7c7_s.jpg (http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1198/4728402280_e4476835cf_o.png) http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1194/4727756609_5a00f6cbdd_s.jpg (http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1194/4727756609_aa8d316b5f_o.png) http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1086/4728402420_3571f59de6_s.jpg (http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1086/4728402420_1de3fef8cf_o.png) http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1218/4727756525_cb63986d26_s.jpg (http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1218/4727756525_56035d04da_o.png) http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1089/4728402342_636a0436db_s.jpg (http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/1089/4728402342_e746448ce2_o.png)
(click to enlarge)

East of East (http://www.eastofeast.com/) [Official Site]
1 Vernon Jackson (http://www.1vernonjackson.com/) [Official Site]
East of East coverage (http://ny.curbed.com/tags/east-of-east) [Curbed]
1 Vernon Jackson coverage (http://ny.curbed.com/tags/10-17-jackson-avenue) [Curbed]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/23/long_island_city_condo_wars_heating_up.php#more

[Derek2k3]

Court Square Two.
Won't hold my breath for the additional 20 floors.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4669058833_5f6636b722_o.jpg
Ciorra Photography (http://www.flickr.com/photos/inno68/4669058833/sizes/o/in/photostream/)

Larger: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4669058833_5f6636b722_o.jpg



http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4764064008_e05ab72846_b.jpg
Ciorra Photography (http://www.flickr.com/photos/inno68/4669058833/sizes/o/in/photostream/)

There's something non-NYC about this pic.
Larger: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4764064008_e05ab72846_b.jpg

[antinimby]

Sterile office park. The only thing missing a parking lot around it.

No sign of life.

[Meatslim]

great photography

[vanshnookenraggen]

great photography

I'll say, it actually makes the place look interesting!

[ablarc]

Is Long Island City part of Stamford?

[MidtownGuy]

Well, the HDR makes it look like it's part of Second Life.

[RoldanTTLB]

Always so negative about LIC. Anyway, here's some other photos of goings on around town:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX407nm-nI/AAAAAAAAERQ/zqokmdJIPuY/s800/IMG_1014.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX436FO-vI/AAAAAAAAERY/91S1lxDQ-ag/s800/IMG_1015.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX4-7dqB3I/AAAAAAAAERo/hYJEzeY6qJM/s800/IMG_1019.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX5GNv3SkI/AAAAAAAAER8/fCM3vlkwZj8/s800/IMG_1032.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX5IVmpymI/AAAAAAAAESA/ArsogDTlJew/s800/IMG_1033.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX5LQRE-3I/AAAAAAAAESI/jUxlOSAJ6zo/s800/IMG_1034.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX5QKjgRmI/AAAAAAAAESQ/RdVdZcpqdcA/s800/IMG_1046.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX5WN9dmTI/AAAAAAAAESc/ezZKp-DS8fE/s800/IMG_1048.JPG

Bonus RI Shot:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TDX5NaW5UXI/AAAAAAAAESM/8o-muLQkPfI/s800/IMG_1039.JPG

[infoshare]

Always so negative about LIC. Anyway, here's some other photos of goings on around town:



Speaking of "goings on around town". I noticed that the last photo in the set depicts a small island in the middle of the east river (Brother Island I think) and thier seems to be some sort of excavation work going on: it looks like the entire surface is being torn up - any news on 'what is going on there".

[phxmania2001]

That's going to be the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park (http://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org/).

[infoshare]

That's going to be the .....

Hey, now that's news : (to me anyway) thanks for the link. The voice-over audio remarks regarding 'free speach,,ect.' is an uplifting message.

[RoldanTTLB]

AKA the Kahn Memorial. I lived on RI for a little more than a year, and I really liked the "raw" version of the south end of the island. I guess the memorial is ok, but I would rather see the kind of park there going on on the northern side of the memorial. I don't have photos, but they've completed cleanup at the rest of the Rockrose site and have started foundations for the next tower. 400 ft, 41 stories, and 361 apartments, I believe. This might be the oddball tower with the rounded edge. Unsure.

[kyle]

Nice shots RoldanTTLB! Loving the work on Hunters Point South, they are moving along. That old bank on the tennis property came down in like 2 days.

[BrooklynLove]

Ya heard! Roldan reppin the Citylights views!

[RoldanTTLB]

I *might* be scouting new apartments. If and when I end up in other buildings looking down on other things, I'll be sure to take photos. I'm waiting for the skin on Gehry to wrap up to head on back up to the top floor of my office for shots. The guys up there were a little weirded out the last time I just showed up to take photos.

[infoshare]

I *might* be scouting new apartments. If and when I end up in other buildings looking down on other things, I'll be sure to take photos.

I know the key word here is MIGHT: but photos, links & other news items on LIC (http://www.licnyc.com/) would be greatly appreciated - I subscribe to this LIC thread and always look forward to your posts. Thanks again for the pics.

http://www.licnyc.com/

[Derek2k3]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4713574769_2aed9ff2bf_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4713574769_2aed9ff2bf_b.jpg
primetime55 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/primetime55/4713574769/sizes/l/in/set-72157622347083396/)

[Meatslim]

awesome photo. makes me wish I was there right now

[ramvid01]

Was walking through LIC today, and noticed that they are quite far along on the 7 to E, G transfer at court square. Didn't take a picture however.

They also seem to be prepping the ground for another Rockrose Tower. I really wish they would rent out all that street level commercial space that is completely empty. It really is a drag.

[stache]

Here's a shot from June -

http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=292122

[RoldanTTLB]

Argh, I seem to have misplaced more recent photos I had. Also, which Rockrose? There's a foundation sitting unused next to Citi tower that they are planning on building eventually. Over by the water they've been digging the foundations for the next tower for a month or so. That one is coming fast. They may even have started on a second over there.

[RoldanTTLB]

Photos from yesterday. Foundation is 4300 Crescent across the street from Citi. It's supposed to be 41 stories and 695 apts. It's been on ice by Rockrose, but I can't imagine that lasting.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5dyEjQCI/AAAAAAAAEWc/VsdIFUr9aHs/s800/IMG_1177.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5fdu3P2I/AAAAAAAAEWg/QHLv-9xF0JY/s800/IMG_1179.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5g4uN1uI/AAAAAAAAEWk/5s8uoqKvVXc/s800/IMG_1180.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5iTih5aI/AAAAAAAAEWo/xJLeT_G4lkY/s800/IMG_1182.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5jZ9QNnI/AAAAAAAAEWs/V45BfIVi4Tk/s800/IMG_1183.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5k3MBkWI/AAAAAAAAEWw/ISNX_50etyM/s800/IMG_1187.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5nb4kjQI/AAAAAAAAEW0/m_b3YLP6ZY0/s800/IMG_1190.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5olvzvMI/AAAAAAAAEW4/AfoqtQFCY4o/s800/IMG_1191.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5qpBHhCI/AAAAAAAAEW8/3eaOYW3RUaI/s800/IMG_1192.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5uMYhQmI/AAAAAAAAEXA/NXeMIWqsJj0/s800/IMG_1194.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5wQP298I/AAAAAAAAEXE/5LUyxuUxCZc/s800/IMG_1195.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5yTl4u5I/AAAAAAAAEXI/5C8ee5kMfoE/s800/IMG_1196.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF50zXC0HI/AAAAAAAAEXM/4S-wATquno8/s800/IMG_1197.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF53nRoOZI/AAAAAAAAEXQ/wzHzEa03EPQ/s800/IMG_1199.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF552zf0gI/AAAAAAAAEXU/N1upDOg3Uow/s800/IMG_1201.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF589TcYMI/AAAAAAAAEXc/aMssOpndEe8/s800/IMG_1202.JPG

[Derek2k3]

Thanks for the update.

[Merry]

Developers Ready to Duke it Out for Long Island City Megaproject

September 16, 2010, by Joey

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_11_Hunters%20Point%20South.jpg

Waterfront skyscrapers! Crazy park spaces and kayaks! An avant-garde public school! Such is the magic of Hunters Point South, the Bloomberg administration's vision of a middle-class utopia on the barren land at the southern tip of the Long Island City shore. The propaganda has been up at the site for a while, but when will see actual signs of progress, like a shovel striking dirt? First the city needs to recruit a developer, and some of the contestants are finally being revealed.

According to Crain's, both Douglaston Development and L+M Development Partners will respond to the city's request for proposals. The original deadline for bids on the 30-acre, 5,000-unit site (60% of the apartments will be for middle-income residents) was Sept. 7, but that was extended to the 17th to give developers a bit more time. AvalonBay is also expected to submit a proposal, so this is shaping up to be a clash of the titans. The city is hoping to choose one or more development teams by the beginning of next year, so Powerhouse condo buyers have plenty of time to worry about the fate of their views.

Developers line up for shot at huge Queens project (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100916/REAL_ESTATE/100919895) [Crain's]
Hunters Point South coverage (http://ny.curbed.com/tags/hunters-point-south) [Curbed]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/09/16/developers_ready_to_duke_it_out_for_long_island_ci ty_megaproject.php

[antinimby]

Oh Lord, please, please don't let it be Avalon Bay.

They build one of the most atrociously, cheap-looking and hideous crap imaginable.

A whole stretch of water front of them? I shudder just thinking about it!

[BrooklynLove]

With the amount of restricted income housing slated for this project, you should expect el cheapo from any developer.

[jrosa51894]

Nice pics Roldan.....
I am hearing that the construction on the now halted project on 43rd ave and crescent street will resume in march..They got the financing needed and are just waiting for the winter to pass. i also heard that they wanted huge concessions from the unions and that the unions told them no. So Rockrose is going forward with alot of non-union labor.

[jrosa51894]

Also if you look at those two red beatup house on 43rd ave bet crescent street and hunter street well they were finally sold and it appears that the tearing down of the properties will occur soon as the wood stacked in front suggests...:)

[RoldanTTLB]

Have any of you gotten by the northern side of Queens west lately? I know they had started at least one of the foundations for the final 4 Rockrose towers (in fact, my understanding, from building reps, is that they are going to try and build out all 4 towers at once!). I don't get to LIC very often. I may not make it there again before the holidays.

[kyle]

On the block that jrosa51894 mentioned, there is also a house for sale. I'm guessing they want out before they're next to another hotel or whatever is going up next door.

http://www.laffey.com/listings.cfm?fuseaction=view&id=2330268

[Derek2k3]

That hotel design in Japan doesn't look very inspiring :rolleyes:. Citibank deserves a better neighbour than something like that.


Japanese firm plans largest borough hotel

August 28, 2009

By Adam Pincus

http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/images/113847/Toyoko_Inn_Nagano_Japan_articlebox.jpg
Toyoko Inn's hotel in Nagano, Japan

Despite the weak hospitality market, a no-frills Japanese hotel company is moving ahead with plans to build a 699-unit hotel across the street from the Citibank tower in Long Island City, Queens, which if built would become the city's largest hotel in the outer boroughs.

The hotelier Toyoko Inn filed an application this month with the Department of City Planning seeking approval for a floor area bonus in exchange for building subway improvements, according to agency documents.

The company bought the five parcels, with addresses 24-05 to 24-19 Jackson Avenue (http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/more-hotels-checking-into-long-island-city) near 45th Avenue, in October 2007 for $17.75 million, records show. In May 2008, the hotel filed plans with the city Department of Buildings for the towering structure.

Plans describe a hotel 385 feet tall with 699 rooms, making it the largest hotel in the outer boroughs and the 22nd largest hotel in the city. It will be 15 stories shorter than the 50-story Citibank tower nearby.......[/URL]


The Independent
Toyoko Inns to bring Japan to New York
Tuesday, 12 October 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/toyoko-inns-to-bring-japan-to-new-york-2104168.html

Successful all over Japan, the Toyoko Inn group is exporting its philosophy of cut-price, no-frills accommodation to New York.

The company operates 225 properties in Japan - a rapid expansion from a single hotel when the company was first set up in January 1986 - and specializes in providing cheap rooms for people travelling on business.

That concept is being extended overseas with the company announcing that it has secured a site in a 640-room tower in the New York borough of Queens.

The selling point will be its location - on the other side of the Hudson River directly opposite midtown - and access to public transport facilities. On top of that, it will charge slightly over $100 per night for a room. An average room in New York costs from $210 per night.

On the down side, the rooms will generally be smaller than 200 square feet (18.5 square meters) - when the average for a hotel in the Big Apple is more than 325 square feet (30 square meters) - and be equipped with little more than a bed, bathroom, desk and television. There will be free internet access and guests will also be able to try a simple, Japanese-style breakfast of rice balls, miso soup and boiled eggs, which is included in the room rate.

The Tokyo-based company engaged New York architect Gene Kaufman to design the hotel, its first foray into a market outside Japan.

The company makes no apologies for the services it provides, which have been a success at home.

"Unlike resort hotels, city hotels or hot spring inns, we do not offer extravagant facilities or services for holiday or vacation travellers," the company said in a statement. "Instead, we provide a comprehensive range of facilities and services that are designed to satisfy business travellers who are away from home.
"By streamlining our facilities and services, and by simply providing clean, comfortable and relaxing rooms, we are able to offer our guests reasonable rates," it said.

The Toyoko Inn group will be following in the footsteps of other Asia-based budget accommodation chains such as Tune Hotel. The Malaysian company opened its first property outside Asia in London in August.

The strength of the yen, combined with a range of new flight options available from the newly enlarged Haneda International Airport, means that New York is becoming a popular destination for Japanese tourists as well as business people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



They could have at least gone with fellow countryman Nobutaka.

Here's the permit. It seems that it has already started construction. It will be directly south of the Citigroup tower, so it will have some kind of presence on the skyline.
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=410108805&passdocnumber=01

[stache]

They certainly made it as ugly as possible!

[antinimby]

Wow this is a nightmare. A large tower by the atrocious Gene Kaufman commissioned by a developer known for building ugly.

Not good.

[lofter1]

35 Stories of Kaufman, out in the open for all to see. :eek:

His website reveals nothing of this one.

(The new GAK designed Sheraton at 370 Canal (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12154&p=341219&viewfull=1#post341219) is only 21 stories with 345 rooms)

The DOB Application (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=410108805&passdocnumber=01) for this one says it will have 708 rooms in 184,500 sf. The Schedule A (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/BScanJobDocumentServlet?requestid=4&passjobnumber=410108805&passdocnumber=01&allbin=4000679&scancode=SC412358896) shows there will be 26 rooms/floor on floors 2-5; 18 rooms/floor on floors 6-31 and 17 rooms/floor on floors 32-25. Nothing on the rooftop but mechanicals.

Sounds like a squat box below with a tall box on top. I wonder what colors & geometrics GAK will opt for?

The Plot Diagram (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/BScanJobDocumentServlet?requestid=4&passjobnumber=410108805&passdocnumber=01&allbin=4000679&scancode=SC080127039) from DOB:

.11156

The site on Google Map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=%2224-19+Jackson+Avenue+Queens+NY%22&sll=40.746469,-73.944651&sspn=0.005885,0.008326&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=24-19+Jackson+Ave,+Queens,+New+York+11101&ll=40.746353,-73.944941&spn=0.001471,0.003103&t=h&z=19)

Street View to the North (http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=%2224-19+Jackson+Boulevard+Queens+NY%22&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=24-19+Jackson+Ave,+Queens,+NY+11101&gl=us&ei=vp-4TI_fO4T7lwfrqcHcDQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ8gEwAA)

It will rise right above and behind this row of 3-story houses (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=%2224-19+Jackson+Avenue+Queens+NY%22&sll=40.746469,-73.944651&sspn=0.005885,0.008326&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=24-19+Jackson+Ave,+Queens,+New+York+11101&ll=40.746901,-73.945321&spn=0.001471,0.003103&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.746895,-73.945203&panoid=Uwr8LNerjOBJ4yNylUd-XA&cbp=12,166.79,,0,-11.65).

Google street view from 23rd > NE (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=%2224-19+Jackson+Avenue+Queens+NY%22&sll=40.746469,-73.944651&sspn=0.005885,0.008326&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=24-19+Jackson+Ave,+Queens,+New+York+11101&ll=40.745887,-73.945549&spn=0.001471,0.003103&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.745856,-73.945567&panoid=T_zC_2C0Um2_PCgFHvSbCQ&cbp=12,28.04,,0,-16.86)

The lots across Jackson at 45th to the SE (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=%2224-19+Jackson+Avenue+Queens+NY%22&sll=40.746469,-73.944651&sspn=0.005885,0.008326&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=24-19+Jackson+Ave,+Queens,+New+York+11101&ll=40.746154,-73.945195&spn=0.001471,0.003103&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.746184,-73.945351&panoid=hmKXPIGBMxPeJZ-sw25pTA&cbp=12,125.82,,0,-6.2) look ripe for redevelopment.

[Stroika]

Kaufman enrages me... On an unrelated note, anyone know if Tonya Harding is still in the kneecapping business?

[Merry]

Long Island City makes bid for New York's next hot spot

BY Jason Sheftell

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/10/22/alg_real-estate_9.jpg
View of the neighborhood looking west from common terrace of East of East,
a new Jackson Ave. condo.

Some call it SoHo in the early days. Others think it has more real estate juice than Battery Park. Both descriptions are probably true.

But don't compare Long Island City to anywhere else. There is so much private development and city infrastructure work, it's hard to know in which part of the neighborhood to start, or live.

The waterfront keeps moving, with four parcels of high-rise rental properties due in the next two years from TF Cornerstone. Court Square, near Queens Plaza, awaits two mixed-use residential/retail projects from Rockrose. Next year, Hunters Point South begins to bring 5,000 housing units to the last piece of the Queens West coastline. Three thousand units are set aside for middle-*income New Yorkers.

Not to mention a new public school, waterfront public library, 35 residential projects, supermarkets, the greening of Jackson Ave., Jet Blue's corporate headquarters, the future home to New York City's Health Department, and the fact you can't walk a block without seeing a smiling young family pushing a baby carriage. There are even "hiring" signs in the windows of new stores and restaurants.

Head spinning? All you have to do to stop that is get out there.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/10/22/alg_real-estate_4.jpg
Geese roam around grassy Gantry Park

This is big sky country New York City, where low-buildings, easy access to the water, and sun-drenched streets are like an immediate relaxation tape. Even with elevated trains, lumberyards and light industry taking place in warehouses filled with set decorators, upholsterers, artists, and tile and cabinet makers, the neighborhood has a dead-quiet appeal.

"I can go to Manhattan the motherland and feel that 100-mile-per-hour energy in minutes," says Juan Sierra, a furniture restoration artisan who moved to the neighborhood three years ago from the lower East Side. "It's electric there. Here is like a shutoff button. It amazes me that people don't know how good it is yet."

The city does. Public investment in Long Island City, spurred by a zoning change, local Business Improvement District and programs spearheaded by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), have improved streetscapes and transportation hubs.

According to EDC, taken together, Hunters Point South, Queens Plaza, Jackson Ave., Gotham Center and the Jet Blue headquarters mean more than 7,500 jobs and $2 billion in public/private *investment.

"We can't just rely on Manhattan for the future of the city," says EDC head Seth Pinsky. "Look at where Long Island City was a few years ago. Not many people knew it was there. Today, we're at a tipping point for this neighborhood where growth could go from steady to exponential. What makes LIC so successful is it's truly a mixed-use community — residential, commercial, industrial and retail all work right next to each other."


http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/10/22/alg_real-estate_1.jpg
Gantry Plaza State Park and the children’s playground(see page 2)



2 (http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_strong_island_city_queens_nabe_makes_bid_for_ne w_yorks_next_best_place_to_live.html?page=1)3 (http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_strong_island_city_queens_nabe_makes_bid_for_ne w_yorks_next_best_place_to_live.html?page=2)4 (http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_strong_island_city_queens_nabe_makes_bid_for_ne w_yorks_next_best_place_to_live.html?page=3)

http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/10/22/2010-10-22_strong_island_city_queens_nabe_makes_bid_for_ne w_yorks_next_best_place_to_live.html#ixzz135cSoK00

[Merry]

An interesting juxtaposition.

http://forgotten-ny.com/WALKS/woodside-LIC/60.austell.big.jpg
http://forgotten-ny.com/WALKS/woodside-LIC/woodside-LIC.2.html

[RoldanTTLB]

Here's a crappy iPhone shot of 4EC which is getting its tower crane. Rebar is already sticking out of the basement level, so it must be done already. This must be the tallest tower starting in the city that's not the WTC or 57Carnegie, no? 8 Spruce is the only one still U/C as far as I know.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TP0my0UoDsI/AAAAAAAAEpw/po-DTyhGLVQ/s800/IMG_0407%5B1%5D.JPG

[RoldanTTLB]

For reference, I believe this is the silhouette furthest to the right in this picture:

http://www.tfcornerstone.com/indevelopment/EastCoast.php

The model is (possibly) this one from curbed:

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/2009_4_ecmodel.jpg

[RoldanTTLB]

AND BOOM goes the dynamite...

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TQMJQE-wPwI/AAAAAAAAEqU/AF4JYiDc_fM/s800/IMG_1929.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TQMTXmsrZnI/AAAAAAAAErw/DtGymq_57QU/s800/IMG_1969.JPG

[stache]

Poor lonely Citibank tower...

[RoldanTTLB]

It'll have company soon enough. I understand much of Gotham Center 1 is leased, and that should get things started on Gotham Center 2 sometime soon. Even sooner, though, is my understanding that the Rockrose foundation across the street on Crescent is about to sprout a tower.

[kyle]

Here's a crappy iPhone shot of 4EC which is getting its tower crane. Rebar is already sticking out of the basement level, so it must be done already. This must be the tallest tower starting in the city that's not the WTC or 57Carnegie, no? 8 Spruce is the only one still U/C as far as I know.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/TP0my0UoDsI/AAAAAAAAEpw/po-DTyhGLVQ/s800/IMG_0407%5B1%5D.JPG

Here's an interview in the New York Observer with Frederick Elghanayan, one half of TF Cornerstone, where he mentions this building.

"And how about here in New York? What's new, development-wise?
Well, we broke ground about three months ago on our next building. We call it East Coast Number Four. It's a 41-story apartment building. We're going to finish the foundation in the next two weeks, and then the crane is coming and we'll have about 380 apartments. That's in Long Island City.

And then, last week, we gave out orders for the foundation for the building after that—we call it East Coast Number One. We'll start that building in about two weeks. We just have to get our pile-driving permit and we'll be ready to go. So we actually have our hands very full right now."


http://www.observer.com/2010/real-estate/quiet-one-construction-side

[RoldanTTLB]

Curbed posted about this. Here's the vitals on both buildings:

Here's 46-15 Center BLVD (EC4 - the one in pics above)
Occupancy Classification: R-2 - RESIDENTIAL: APARTMENT HOUSES
Building Height (ft.): 400
Building Stories: 41
Dwelling Units: 363

Here's 45-45 Center BLVD (probably EC1 - This thing is going to be MASSIVE base-wise)
Occupancy Classification: J2: RESIDENTIAL
Building Height (ft.): 390
Building Stories: 40
Dwelling Units: 838

For reference, EC1 is the massive massive tower in the northeast corner of the site. It will have a very large base (and another garage facing 5th st if I'm not mistaken). Despite being 1 floor less than the small guy going up now, it'll have a ridiculous number of apartments.

[kyle]

I really hate how weird it feels to walk down 5th Street with all those parking garages looming around you. Citylights did it the best, with a wall of oaks somewhat blocking their garage and making it feel less cold and menacing.

And just a FYI, TF Cornerstone's people from The View condo said that after these 2 are built, there will be 2 more, with one of them being a condo, supposedly right on the East River. I'd figure that will be the last to be built pending market conditions.

So if you were priced out of The View there will still be another shot of owning a waterfront apartment in LIC, aside from the Hunter Point South development. :)

[RoldanTTLB]

Oh yes, the plan was for 7 total. I'm unsure if EC1 is going to have the rounded edge, or if that'll be one of the later ones.

Here's the siteplan:

http://www.queenswest.com/eastcoast/pictures/rockrosesiteplan1.jpg

Also, it appears that as Rockrose went along they added more to the ground floors of the garages (Food Cellar for example). I hope that this continues up 5th st eventually. The fact that there will also be a few new buildings on the east side of the street should help eventually too. Garages on one side and empty lots (at best) on the other.

[RoldanTTLB]

This also suggests that 1 is the northwest lot, which could make it the rounded one. I find it interesting that they would build the two that are opposite one another, then fill in.

[kyle]

If they are indeed doing it that way, then it looks like they're trying to preserve The View' condo views for as long as possible. And maybe protect them from nearby construction until they sell more there.

Or maybe those are the least contaminated sites?

Man, I can't wait to be able to walk down Center Blvd. when it's all completed! That street is going to rival Shore Blvd. in Astoria for cruising and as a make-out spot. Lol

They should build speed bumps b/c it will probably be a speedsters dream. Or will they continue the cobble stone down the entire blvd.?

[RoldanTTLB]

I think it's going to be all cobblestone. Not conducive to speeding. As someone who has already drunkenly made out in the area, yes, it has it's plentiful opportunities. I really think that the next tower is doing to be the really large one in the back, though. It has just a ridiculous number of sqft and apartments and is not any taller than the skinny building. I just don't know how they could cram them into one of the smaller front buildings. I also think that what they will do is rent out the back two, then build the front two (maximizing rents the whole way around). I've heard from some realty types that they are actually going to just build all 4 at once, which is also still a possibility. The whole site was decontaminated at once, so I don't think that's it.

On the other hand, the back tower says it'll be the tallest tower at 340. I think heights in the site plan are low, though, because all of these towers are taller than what's listed there.

[kyle]

As an aside, I was just looking at these sites this past weekend, and you can make out where the street will be. So cool! Looks like they're doing some sewer work now.

And the library parcel on Center Blvd. is coming too. It's now officially completely funded and they're working on it big time.

[RoldanTTLB]

Yeah, the library will really change Center Blvd. I mean, once the street is complete in both directions (this and hunters pt s) it'll be really something, but just the library being done alone will transform the initial 6 or 7 towers in the area by leaving all of the land built. It's almost like BPC filling in. It feels much more finished now that the last few sites are built.

[kyle]

Found this Daily News article via curbed.com about the libraries architect Steven Holl.

'"Holl's design just leapt off the page," says David Burney (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/David+Burney), head of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/NYC+Department+of+Design+and+Construction), who with the Queens Library awarded Holl the project. "Libraries today are community centers. This one has a music room for teens, auditorium and computer lab. Holl was conscious of the layout and prominence of the site. This is an inspiring community resource."'


[/URL]


[url]http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/11/12/2010-11-12_holl.html (http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/11/12/2010-11-12_holl.html#ixzz18JUEdwrD)

[kyle]

Here's a nice recent photo of what we're talking about on Plaxall's facebook page. They're a major land owner and developer in the area.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/LICProperties/172322169465895#!/photo.php?fbid=173430229355089&set=a.173423576022421.36545.172322169465895

[RoldanTTLB]

BOOMSAUCE!

A couple notes, then the photos. 4EC is a really small building. It looks like it's smaller than all 3 of the currently built towers. It may have a prefab garage on the back, though, as the wall back there is currently solid. Even so, not large. Also, they are already pile driving for the next tower. From the location they're driving, I believe that they're foundations for the massive building in the site plan (Northeastern most site). The odd glass beast below says it's a transient hotel. That sounds bad, but maybe they couldn't build just a normal hotel? Anyway, it's on the northern edge of the waterfront neighborhood. Also seen below, the second powerhouse tower is nearly done on the outside. It's maybe not as good as the part that reused the powerhouse itself. The Hunters Point South site is nearly completely clear. There might be a few other photos tossed in below, I can answer more if anyone has any questions.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5358982002_aed36250bf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358982002/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5167/5358370675_7cf300c831_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358370675/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5358373165_f59481b35f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358373165/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5164/5358375731_4a2d72eeda_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358375731/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5285/5359001356_d7e912f07d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359001356/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5359003714_e188dcf1e9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359003714/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5359006490_ea73593b6b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359006490/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5358394515_32a1cfa6c2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358394515/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5359010908_0ab74b1afa_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359010908/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/5359013108_def3dc14bd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359013108/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5048/5359015180_95da073300_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359015180/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5359024188_7383def958_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359024188/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5358411497_627323a27e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358411497/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5245/5358413499_ef8331e692_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358413499/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5359029700_997a9397e5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359029700/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5359031772_28802b603e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359031772/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5359034094_cc76fa76af_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5359034094/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5088/5358421929_04d647b3cf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358421929/)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5358423905_d8e3d6f34f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5358423905/)

[lofter1]

Return of the exposed floor plates!

RoldanTTLB: Nice pics. (I like the cladding on the top one.) Bet your fingers got cold!

[RoldanTTLB]

So L-Haus, yeah. I'm not sure about the putrid green. I think the same building in darker green, red, or blue would look better. Additionally, I think they should have varied the panel thicknesses, then they could have hidden the PTACs in the paneling. It's really just the color that gets me. Independent of any of that, it wasn't as cold as it could have been. I took a few photos of the Louis Kahn Memorial too, but I need to hunt down the thread for that to post them.

[RoldanTTLB]

Also, the exposed floor plates at the solarium look ok, but the ones at the second powerhouse building are not as nice.

[kyle]

I think we both were taking pictures that day RoldanTTLB. I just used my iPhone camera though.

Nice shots, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to seeing the whole EC site built up.

Did you notice if WTB was still around? I heard the city either evicted them at the end of last season or is currently trying to get them out to build HPS.

[RoldanTTLB]

I didn't notice a water taxi beach, BUT, I'm pretty sure they close in the winter, yeah? So I'm not sure if I would have seen it. The area over there is REALLY clear (in that photo you're looking, effectively, over the entire northern part of the plot). It's true that WTB is towards the middle, and might not be visible here. I don't think they're long for this world. What I'm curious about is how much of the street grid goes in without buildings. They're supposed to break ground on the park and the school(s) this year. They're not at the periphery, that's for sure, so I guess we'll see what happens.

[Merry]

Steven Holl's Library to Make Long Island City Less Soulless

January 31, 2011, by Joey Arak

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/2011_1_library1.jpg

Libraries: They're not just for kids and the homeless anymore! At least not in Long Island City, where a long-delayed house o' hardcovers on a plum waterfront site has just been given a shot of starchitecture from Steven Holl. The Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/arts/design/31holl.html?partner=rss&emc=rss) has the unveiling of Holl's new Queens West library, which will become an instant landmark on the LIC waterfront despite being tucked between—in architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff's words—the "soulless mix of generic apartment towers" that Queens West currently offers. Ouch.

Holl (one of our favorites) and his partner Chris McVoy have come up with an 80-foot-tall aluminum rectangle with huge windows carved out, no doubt creating some stunning East River and Manhattan skyline views. It doesn't look like a typical library, and that's the point. In fact, the building will serve three purposes: community center, peaceful retreat and haunted house. Talk about mixed-use!

In the slightly-still-barren 'hood, the library will be one of a series of new "lively communal hubs, and should go far in bolstering the civic image of Queens," Ouroussoff writes. And it will help the residents forget about their ugly apartment buildings, at least for a moment. When approached from the street, visitors will enter a reading garden "walled off from the gloomy scene that surrounds it ... Ginkgo trees will shade the garden, partly blocking the view of the towers." Jeez, we'll go out on a limb and say the O-Dog isn't buying a place at Citylights anytime soon.

And then there's the spooky stuff. Seen from across the East River in Manhattan, the library's windows will emit a haunting glow at dusk, "looking a bit like ghosts trapped inside a machine." Holl's got something to freak out the claustrophobes, too. At night, spotlights illuminating the facade will make the windows "resemble caves dug into the wall of a cliff." Here's an after-hours rendering. Are you spooked?

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/2011_1_library2.jpg

Civic Engagement Trumps ‘Shhh!’ (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/arts/design/31holl.html?partner=rss&emc=rss) [NYT]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/01/31/steven_holls_library_to_make_long_island_city_less _soulless.php#more

[kyle]

I know this is lame, but I wonder what the heating and cooling bills will be for this?

And is it just me or is this way taller than I thought they said it was going to be.

Otherwise I like it!

[RoldanTTLB]

I don't think the night time render is particularly accurate. It looks like it's 12+ floors against the Rockrose next to it, and it will only be 8. Additionally, it is obnoxiously bright in that render (bad photoshopping). It is unlikely to even be as bright as the Pepsi sign. That said, this will go a long way to completing the street here. This area is only a few years from being built out at this point. To think city lights is only 10 years old or so. An entire new neighborhood in 15 years. Let's see if Hudson Yards can have the same transformation.

[kyle]

Citylights is almost 14 years old at this point.

[RoldanTTLB]

Indeed. 13 years since it opened. To think popcorn ceilings were in just 13 years ago. Yikes! There was still a whole pile of pepsi factory over here then....

http://www.queenswest.com/eastcoast/pictures/20020925_3.jpg
www.queenswest.com

[brianac]

Posting

A Developer Aims High in Long Island City

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/02/06/realestate/post-2/post-2-articleLarge.jpg Arquitectonica/Tf Cornerstone
A rendering of TF Cornerstone’s East Coast project.

By ALISON GREGOR

Published: February 4, 2011

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/02/06/realestate/post-1/post-1-popup.jpgRichard Perry/The New York Times
46-15 Center Boulevard is to be completed in 2012.

Last August TF Cornerstone (http://www.tfcornerstone.com/index.php), one of the city’s most prolific builders, broke ground on a 41-story tower at 46-15 Center Boulevard that is to have 367 rental apartments when finished in April 2012. In December at 45-40 Center, the developer poured the foundation for a 32-story high-rise that will have 345 rental apartments, and in March it will begin a third tower, at 45-45 Center, with 806 rentals.

By 2013, along with those three towers, TF Cornerstone plans to have finished a fourth, with 586 apartments, at 46-10 Center, directly behind the huge Pepsi sign on the East River waterfront.

K. Thomas Elghanayan, the chairman of TF Cornerstone, said he wasn’t worried about going ahead with high-rise buildings in a city development market that remains largely stagnant.

“We know the market there,” Mr. Elghanayan said. “We’re able to get the financing, and no one else is building. I believe by the time we finish these four buildings, the whole community will be an established market, and we’ll do well.”

Long Island City’s formerly industrial waterfront, only a subway stop away from Manhattan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/classifieds/realestate/locations/newyork/newyorkcity/manhattan/?inline=nyt-geo), was designated by the city and state for cleanup and redevelopment in the early 1980s. A plan was adopted to create roads and infrastructure on 74 waterfront acres to support 11 residential towers, two schools, a park, and a library designed (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/arts/design/31holl.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Steven%20Holl&st=cse) by the architect Steven Holl (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/steven_holl/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and his partner Chris McVoy.

The Queens West Development Corporation (http://www.queenswest.org/), a government agency, has been working with private developers, who lease the land they build upon, to achieve that plan.

There are now seven apartment towers in the area. Neighborhood amenities include parking garages, a new Duane Reade store and a supermarket called Food Cellar. A spa, a wine shop and more restaurants are opening or are planned. Vernon Boulevard is a thriving commercial strip with a new health food store and restaurants like Madera Cuban Grill and Steakhouse and Testaccio Ristorante.

The existing towers, the oldest of which is Citylights, built in 1997, have a total of about 2,600 apartments (not including a building with senior housing). The four new glass buildings — which, with two of the existing buildings, are part of what TF Cornerstone calls East Coast — will add about 2,100 apartments. New York City (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/classifieds/realestate/locations/newyork/newyorkcity/manhattan/?inline=nyt-geo) also has a plan to develop 5,000 apartments, about 60 percent of them for middle-income residents, on 30 of the 74 acres immediately to the south at Hunters Point South. TF Cornerstone has submitted a plan to participate in that development as well.

One-bedroom rentals in Long Island City’s waterfront area start at $2,000 a month, while two-bedrooms start at $2,400 to $2,500 a month, said Silvette Julian, a vice president and project director with the brokerage Nest Seekers International. Landlords in the area said they were optimistic that demand for apartments would continue, especially among renters priced out of Manhattan. Over the last decade, AvalonBay Communities (http://www.avalonbay.com/avalon/site/home.html) built two rental towers, Avalon Riverview and Avalon Riverview North, and both have rented easily, said Frederick S. Harris, a senior vice president of AvalonBay.

“There hasn’t been a lot of competitive price pressure,” he said, meaning the company has not had to reduce rents.

A year ago, TF Cornerstone began testing the sales waters with condominiums at the View, a glass-clad terraced building that looks a bit like an Incan pyramid, at 46-30 Center Boulevard. The 185-unit building is more than half sold, with prices at $800 to $1,000 a square foot, Mr. Elghanayan said.

Among available units in mid-January, a one-bedroom was listed for $616,000; a two-bedroom for $840,000; and a three-bedroom for $995,000. Common charges on those units ranged from $546 to $981 a month.

Mr. Elghanayan said the View had mostly larger apartments, even some four-bedrooms, because the developers believe Long Island City’s waterfront is evolving into an attractive neighborhood for families.

A 662-seat school for kindergarten through eighth grade will be built by the New York City School Construction Authority (http://www.nyc.gov/html/sca/home.html) adjacent to the rental building going up at 46-15 Center. The area already has one small school, Public School 78Q, for kindergarten through fifth grade.

The 10-acre Gantry Plaza State Park (http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/149/details.aspx) is being expanded, and the library design was recently approved by the Queens Library Board of Trustees.

Each building in the East Coast development has its own fitness room and amenities, but the 806-unit building will have a 1,000-car parking garage, along with an amenity center for all residents of East Coast buildings. On top of the parking garage will be a recreational area with a pool, tennis courts, beach volleyball courts and other outdoor amenities.

The recreational area will also have a large gym for which East Coast residents will pay a nominal membership fee to join, Mr. Elghanayan said. Those amenities should be available in early 2013.

“A lot of people don’t even know this development is here yet,” he said. “They have a vague idea of a Pepsi sign and seeing it as they cross the Queensboro Bridge (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/bridges_and_tunnels/queensboro_bridge/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier). But once you get out here, it’s pretty spectacular.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/realestate/06posting.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[BrooklynLove]

LIC and downtown BK sure are fun to watch develop.

[Derek2k3]

Too bad that last rendering above makes the area look as interesting as Newport, JC. Over/master-planning leaves us with another cookie-cutter community.
Funny that the Times article about library criticizes LIC's waterfront development, then a few days they publish this.

[RoldanTTLB]

Large update from yesterday. Some of this stuff has been done for a little while, but the weather was just too nice not to hit it all. Not pictured is the recently competed Linea building. I just didn't make it down 11th street. Also looks like the new Powerhouse building is called the Yards, as per Curbed this morning.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5058/5423814342_3e4bc0517e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5423814342/)

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[Derek2k3]

Thanks for these updates.
Smart to make sure every room has a view of Midtown in that first hotel.

[Merry]

Hunters Point South Phase I Unveiled: Stores! School! Starchitects!

February 9, 2011, by Joey Arak

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Earlier this week we mentioned that the Long Island City waterfront will have 2,100 new apartments by 2013. Make that 3,000 by 2014. Phase I of Hunters Point South, Mayor Bloomberg's dream of turning the barren southern tip of the neighborhood's waterfront (once earmarked for an Olympic village) into a middle-class oasis with 5,000 apartments, a school, a gorgeous park and more, is officially a go. Today Bloomberg and other officials formally unveiled the largest new affordable housing complex to be built in New York City since the 1970s, and after a heated competition, the residential portion of the project's first phase, which includes 900 apartments in two buildings, has been awarded to a development team consisting of the Related Companies, Phipps Houses and Monadnock Construction. And the reveals just keep on coming!

The luxury towers that have sprouted on the LIC waterfront in the past decade have taken some knocks for being bland, but some big guns have been recruited for Hunters Point South: our arena-designing increasingly famous pals at SHoP, and the spaceship-piloting Ismael Leyva Architects. The first phase will also include parking, retail (20,000 square feet), five acres of that snazzy waterfront park and that extra-funky 1,100-seat intermediate and high school. This will allegedly all be finished by 2014, with infrastructure work beginning next month (gotta have those roads and sewers!), park construction beginning this summer, and the buildings going up in 2012.

So who gets to live here? Well, even though the initial RFP called for 60% of the rental apartments to go to middle-income families, that figure has been raised. Here's the breakdown via the press release (download the document right here (http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/50-11%20%28Hunter%27s%20Point%20South%20Development%2 0Plan%29.doc)):
The permanently affordable units – at least 75 percent or a minimum of 685 of the total 908 phase one units – will be targeted to families with household incomes ranging from $32,000 to $130,000 per year for a family of four; 20 percent of the units will be available to families earning between 40 percent and 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), 20 percent to families earning up to 130 percent AMI, and 35 percent to families earning up to 165 percent AMI.
For those already packing their kids' bags, the first phase of Hunters Point South is the 800,000-square-foot chunk of land bounded by 50th Avenue to the north, 2nd Street to the east, Borden Avenue to the south and Center Boulevard to the west. Drop by and take a look! And also sneak a peek at the gallery above for a few glimpses at how Phase I (rooftop sundecks, anyone?) is expected to turn out.

Hunters Point South (http://www.nycedc.com/ProjectsOpportunities/CurrentProjects/Queens/HuntersPointSouth/Pages/HuntersPointSouth.aspx) [EDC]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/02/09/hunters_point_south_phase_i_unveiled_stores_school _starchitects.php

[macreator]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5423878756_733f92a0e3_z.jpg

When is brick this color ever a good idea? Is it simply cheaper?

[lofter1]

If it's the kind of brick with oxidation spots then I give them the thumbs up. Methinks it's the exposed floorplates here that that is the worst offender.

[Derek2k3]

It's a bit ridiculous that housing subsidized by taxpayers look higher quality than the luxury developments next door. Not that I'm wishing for less from the city, maybe private developers need to step their game up.

[BrooklynLove]

Hunters Point South Phase I Unveiled: Stores! School! Starchitects!

If you paid for a view at Powerhouse (many did even knowing this was coming) you're getting killed by this now. Bye bye view, any open space and direct light.

I can't help but remember when Avalon backdoored their changes to Riverview 2, decimating views from Citylights to the NW, and no one with units looking directly west or south lifted a finger as a small group of unit owners was left to fight Avalon in futility. Karma sure is a b***h.

[RoldanTTLB]

If you're not on the water, your view will never be safe, and even then, there's always the slim chance something crazy might happen... (imagine if BPC2 was further into the Hudson from BPC1, heh!)

[Merry]

Reaching for the Sky in Queens

SHoP gets a shot at Hunters Point South affordable megaplex.

Tom Stoelker

Over one week in mid-February, SHoP Architects was selected to design the first two residential towers at Hunters Point South, add a 429-foot residential tower and school to the recently rezoned Hudson Square, and design the first residential tower at Atlantic Yards. Of the three projects, Hunters Point South developed by Related and the non-profit Phipps Houses stands apart. There, the firm will be designing apartment towers where 75 percent of the units will be permanently targeted toward low and middle-income households. It will be the largest affordable housing complex built in New York since the 1970s.

“They’re very different areas. At Hunters Point it’s almost like inventing a new neighborhood,” said SHoP’s Gregg Pasquarelli. “In Atlantic Yards it’s a vibrant community with a hole in the center and at Hudson Square, we’re knitting together what are probably three of the most important neighborhoods of the city.”

Speaking for Related, where he is currently VP for planning and development, Vishaan Chakrabarti said Hunters Point will have all the ingredients needed to become a successful neighborhood, including subway access, new ferry routes, and enough density to activate retail and restaurants. “Related has been a proponent since the Olympic bid, so we were very bullish on the site,” said Chakrabarti, noting that the prime views across the river of Midtown, the United Nations, and the Chrysler Building are “an amenity that you usually associate with the super rich.” Chakrabarti added that part of the reason SHoP was selected was based on their ability work well with contactors. “They create a kind of architecture that is ultimately clear for contractors to build, because it has to do with a technologically-based design process,” he said.

The design is still in the conceptual stage and many technical issues need to be ironed out. According to City Planning regulations, Hunters Point South falls within a special purpose zoning district where base heights must be 50 to 75 feet before setting back to towers not to exceed 400 feet. The two mixed-use buildings, separated by 51st Street, are expected to be completed in 2014. They include 900 apartment units, a school and 20,000 square feet of retail space concentrated along 50th Street and Second Avenue.

Attempts were made to maximize views by massing the buildings around a courtyard incorporated into the larger of the two buildings, although that part of the design has not been finalized. The courtyard, actually a green roof, would rest about four stories above the street, nestled between two small wings to the east and west and on larger mass to north, somewhat recalling the roof terraces of Rockefeller Center. As the building sits on a flood plane, parking could not be placed below ground, so it is buried within the core of the larger building. “There’s nothing more neighborhood-killing than seeing five levels of parking before you get to peoples’ homes,” said Pasquarelli. Center Boulevard will separate the buildings from a five-acre waterfront park, so as to encourage public access. “We did look at Battery Park as a model,” Chakrabarti said, “but this will have more diversity of design and socio economic makeup.”

The towers will appear related but distinct. “We asked, should they be twins, sisters, cousins, friends or strangers? And I think we ended up with friends,” said the architect, apparently with an eye to Queens’ emerging skyline. “This was not a tower in the park,” he said. “We thought about this as the first phase of many buildings.”

http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=5197

[Derek2k3]

Here's that project for two CUNY dorm buildings and a taller residential building

http://www.citistructure.com/images/Website%20Pages/3-Projects/Project%20Pages/LIC/LIC%209.jpg


http://www.citistructure.com/images/Website%20Pages/3-Projects/Project%20Pages/LIC/LIC%2010.jpg

OCA LIC 5th Street Mixed-Use Housing
Long Island City, NY

CitiStructure was retained by OCA for the construction of this mixed use development in Long Island City, NY. The project, located in an old industrial area of Long Island City, is bordered by 5th Street to the west, 46th Road to the north, 47th Avenue to the south, and private property to the east, and is just two blocks from the East River. The New York City skyline can easily be seen from the site including the Chrysler, Met Life and Citi Group buildings. The site is also surrounded by hi-end luxury residential buildings and is only blocks from the Citi-Group tower in Queens.

The program involves three separate phases: Demolition (Phase I), Site Remediation (Phase II) and New Construction (Phase III). CitiStructure completed the demolition of the 66,000sf site in 2008.

Historically, the entire property was covered with buildings and had been developed prior to 1898 as a residential area. Subsequently, the area gravitated toward industrial use with such occupants as a wood-working company, silversmith, a bakery and a HVAC system additives distributor. These companies most likely used all types of industrial solvents and oils including paint and painting products as part of their operations. Consequently, the site needs to be remediated and is part of the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfields Program.

CitiStructure started the site remediation and excavation in the fall of 2009 with completion scheduled for the spring of 2010. The site is being remediated under a structural tent to contain dust and vapors from spreading to the surrounding community. The tent covers an area of 213 feet X 118 feet and stands 39 feet at its peak. It will be erected in three sections with each weighing in at 15 to 20 tons. As the excavation/remediation of an area is completed, the tent sections will be moved by crane to their new location on the site so that the excavation and remediation process can continue.

It is anticipated that Phase III New Construction will begin shortly after completion of Phase II. The project’s current plan calls for construction of two new CUNY dormitories at 200,000sf each and a 400,000sf mixed use residential and retail facility.

[RoldanTTLB]

Newsflash! 4300 Crescent pulled fresh NB permits 1 week ago. Foundation's done, so this could go up immediately. That will put Rockrose (or Maybe TF Cornerstone/both) up to 5 LIC towers U/C at the same time. Next time I'm in the area I'll swing by for photos. Here's my most recent shot of the foundations (8/21/10):

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_3T08TVQ0h2g/THF5uMYhQmI/AAAAAAAAEXA/NXeMIWqsJj0/s640/IMG_1194.JPG

It's set for 41 stories, 400 ft, and 695 units.

[RoldanTTLB]

The very end of 46th st (click to see full size if not visible in this here tiny version)...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2569/5753172271_80dab6061b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5753172271/)

[RoldanTTLB]

Kaboomsauce!

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[BrooklynLove]

holy s**t. rockrose is flying.

[kyle]

Rockrose is indeed flying! 2 buildings at once too, incredible.

Hunters Point South is going to town too!

[BrooklynLove]

Are the fools in the new building still complaining about the idling trains?

[RoldanTTLB]

Buildings (1HPS and Murano), and yes.

[RoldanTTLB]

Noticed I hadn't posted this here. It's the full pano of LIC. Still don't know what the building going up due west of the Star Tower Pit of Despair is. Oh, as with all my pics since moving to flickr, click for full resolution.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2067/5781988831_6512a6b554_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5781988831/)

[RoldanTTLB]

I have a MASSIVE amount of photos to post here. That said, it's so many, I think it might be easier to just put aside a set on Flickr. Is everyone ok with just a link to that instead of the pics posted here?

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5272/5841299178_1fc805974c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5841299178/)

[infoshare]

Is everyone ok with just a link to that instead of the pics posted here?

Good idea. That is the best way to go with when you have more than a few photo to post: so by all means to make the link.

BTW. A shout-out to the A/E/C community, if anyone is interested in joining the KA tribe?
Here is a video I hope you will enjoy.
http://www.knowledge-architecture.com/community.php

[RoldanTTLB]

At last! All photos up and in a set! Here's 60 pics of the LIC waterfront from Thursday. Couple quick comments -

1.) TF Cornerstone is FAST. From observing the site, I do not think they are starting on the final two buildings just yet, but it is clear they are about to build out Center Blvd. around the site (construction walls show this).

2.) Looks like the school is the first thing starting at HPS. Demo is clearly done, and they've starting foundations.

3.) There's a growing number of "available" sites on 5th st. I am interested to see how long these last before there is another massive round of construction.

Without further adieu: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/sets/72157626989726024/

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/sets/72157626989726024/)Feel free to comment here. Thanks all!

[infoshare]

At last! All photos up and in a set! Here's 60 pics of the LIC waterfront from Thursday. Couple quick comments -
Feel free to comment here. Thanks all!

LIC has way too many mediocre 'building standard' type residential developments. There are a few 'cool-looking' buildings I spotted - the one that is directly adjacent to the LIC train station is a nice one. It is the low rise building that has an all-glass curtain wall on the lower levels, and beige pre-cast stone panels on the upper sections.

Here is a good, and relevant, article for you about the value of establishing "loose ties". (http://www.business2community.com/leadership/what-gladwell-missed-–-the-power-of-the-loose-tie-038875)
Great photos - thanks.
http://www.business2community.com/leadership/what-gladwell-missed-–-the-power-of-the-loose-tie-038875

[Tectonic]

06.18.2011

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©tectonic

[BrooklynLove]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5272/5841299178_1fc805974c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/5841299178/)

Calling all shmucks. All Aboard!

[Tectonic]

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4731/dsc0654sn.jpg
©tectonic

[futurecity]

There is great potential with those canals. Could be something like the NY 'docklands' there someday. I'm amazed it has taken so long to consider developing these waterways given that they are a stone's throw from Manhattan.

[Derek2k3]

It's not like the land is vacant.
There are viable industrial businesses there you know, albeit less so now.

[ramvid01]

Looks like they also started the park at Hunters Point South. Saw a lot of heavy machinery where the tennis courts were and it seems like they are driving piles further south. I just hope that the buildings that go up at Hunters Point South are more engaging at street level (and architecturely appealing) compared to what has currently been constructed.

Oh and that 20 story sheer wall is absolutely hideous. At least the other tower that is going up doesn't have a exterior sheer wall.

[RoldanTTLB]

It's not great, but I actually think the view of it from the street will be minimized once the school is built there. If you check my gallery, there are pics of the renders of both schools currently under construction. One on the site abutting that sheer wall, and the other on the north end of HPS. As for the other bits, I doubt it, although the street wall is not as bad as it could be, you're right that it could be even better still.

[NoyokA]

The existing building is coming down for Minskoff's dorm:

http://www.ejmequities.com/images/north30.jpg

[Gulcrapek]

I guess that's the nail in the coffin of the old office building design...

[RoldanTTLB]

BAM! LIC all over the place. Lots of new stuff going on here. Feel free to ask questions. TF Cornerstone is Crazy with a capital C. As you can see, they have done much of the setup work for the next building's foundations and they're topped out on the 5th building even as the 4th isn't completely glassed. The school by here is being driven for, but the one by HPS is already founded (hard to see from the photos). Star Tower foundations are still dead as a door nail, but that hasn't prevented this nutso 27 story tower from rising immediately next to it. I think that'll make it taller than 2Gotham across the street. Demo happening across the street for another new building, and huge foundations going in for 2 different sites north of Queens Plaza. There's still 3 or 4 massive sites over there with nothing, though. I think it's only a matter of time before that's all built up. Without further adieu...

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6200/6071361465_e47fc8ddbb_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/6071361465/)

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[BrooklynLove]

love it

[BrooklynLove]

Everything west of 5th Street is in Zone A. Not good.

[RoldanTTLB]

Small update. There's definitely a crane at Crescent St. in Queens Plaza, so Rockrose has re-mobilized on that site. It will, surely, go up fast. It's going to be 429 ft and 42 stories. For reference, One Court Square across the street is 686 ft. This will definitely alter the skyline of central LIC.

Oh, and here's the only known render (which people might not have noticed previously - it's actually shown in the render of what 10 Court Square, another RR building to be, looks like):

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6066/6147377448_5f5edfbae2_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799907@N05/6147377448/)

Seems like pretty standard Malhotra (2Gold) fare.

[antinimby]

Lotta junk.

[GordonGecko]

I'm surprised there's no thread specifically for Queensboro plaza. There's been a LOT of development there this year, including a complete re-landscaping of the roads, walkways and addition of a smaller park. Then there's the new tishman building and the other buildings sprouting up like mushrooms. I guess most contributors on this website live in Brooklyn or Manhattan - Queens gets no respect :rolleyes:

[ramvid01]

Here are a couple of pics I took on the 7 train last week of a hotel(?) they are building by Queensboro Plaza. Forgive the quality since its a smartphone camera.

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14186&d=1317945244
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14185&d=1317945216

[RoldanTTLB]

It's an apartment, but it just keeps looking crazy thinner as it gets taller. Looks like it's going to be all glass then? I'll have to go take pics next week. Thank you for these!

[ramvid01]

Seems like the two highrises by the water are almost done with contruction. The taller one had its lights on on Sunday night when i dropped by the park. Sadly my phones battery was almost dead and I didnt have my camera to take pictures. I must say that Gantry State Park has become quite the success story. I remember going there many years ago and there would be only a handful of people but now its packed even later into the night. Pretty cool if I may say.

Here are some older pics I took in the park [sorry for the quality]:

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14235&d=1318298280
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14236&d=1318298289
http://wirednewyork.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14238&d=1318298322

[Merry]

Shimmer on the Waterfront

By ROBBIE WHELAN

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BG627_NYSPAC_G_20111023180454.jpg
A model of TF Cornerstone's East Coast project in Long Island City.

Venturing northward from the Vernon Boulevard subway station in Queens toward the Hunters Point waterfront takes the walker through a dramatic range of urban textures.

One minute you're on what looks like a small-town main street, with shops and restaurants. The next, you're in a sleepy district of low-rise residential buildings and squalid factories. Then, suddenly, the East River approaches, and you're surrounded by strapping, aquatic-hued high-rise towers with glassy exteriors and hundreds of balconies. Suddenly, it's Miami Beach.

The $1 billion-plus East Coast project, a massive, 7-building residential complex that has been two decades in the making, is just past half-done. TF Cornerstone, a development firm run by the Elghanayan brothers, K. Thomas and Frederick, has built two rental towers, a condo building called the View, and a load of infrastructure including eight acres of park space and a public waterfront promenade.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BG628_NYSPAC_DV_20111023180527.jpg

All told, the project is expected to be finished in 2014 and will add some 3,500 units of market-rate housing to Long Island City, a post-industrial waterfront neighborhood that had been dominated by low-slung factory buildings and a scattering of town houses.

In some ways, the Elghanayans have succeeded in building something special at East Coast, a 21-acre parcel owned by the state and approved for some 3 million square feet of development. The plan was tweaked a decade ago to remove roads from around the buildings, and the resulting ample open space on the site will be a huge boon to neighborhood residents. The project will make a bold case for Long Island City's legitimacy as a residential destination, even in the face of its bigger, badder cousin, the East Side of Manhattan, which gazes down haughtily from across the water.

But in other ways, East Coast is an exercise in taking a neighborhood with very little residential identity or context to build from and building it into an area so grand in scale, so modern and sterile in feel, and so unlike anything that could be said be evocative of New York City, that it is still fumbling to find an identity.

The builders built tall, statement-making buildings on small footprints, surrounded by as much green space as possible, giving the whole community a classic Corbusian feel of towers in parks surrounded by highways (the Queens-Midtown tunnel roars open onto I-495.

The statement is one of underdog, pioneer indignation: There was nothing here, no roadmap to follow and little in the way of traditional context to respect, so we've built towers that are just as sleek as the latest glazed-over, thumbshaped behemoths in the city.

"We had a rare opportunity to build an 'ensemble,' on a large scale, not unlike Rockefeller Center or the World Financial Center at Battery Park City," wrote Jon McMillan, director of planning for TF Cornerstone in an email after a tour of the site. "We could have made it look like it was built over time, by different architects and developers, and that it sort of emerged organically like the rest of the city, but there is unquestionably also an opportunity to do the reverse and make a grander impact with a coordinated set of buildings—to be bold."

A lot of that thinking has to do with marketing and economics. In order to persuade people to move to a new part of the city, TFC felt it needed to "show them that they weren't going to be all alone—that they were going to be part of a place, a community, and that they wouldn't be stranded all alone in a sea of taxi repair shops," Mr. McMillan adds.

Fair point. But the buildings, all but one of them designed by Miami-based condo specialist Arquitectonica, aren't in their own right bold. They exude, through their rectangular tinted-glass faces, which are cut here and there with ribbons of colored brick and steel girding, a type of nouveau-riche indulgence that privileges functionality and soaring views over exterior glamour, and belongs along the water in a party-happy beach town, not on the shores of the East River.

Arquitectonica, and its founder, Bernardo Fort-Brecia, a rising star who has shown that he can draw designs that are risky and progressive, did a good job of adding variety. The footprints of the buildings are skewed and differentiated in ways that avoid making the effort look monolithic. The rental building at 4705 Center Boulevard has a rippling rhythm to its balconies, while the 345-unit building rising at 4540 Center Boulevard is a rectangular anchor in the middle.

Indeed, there is an admirable mix of products, but they're all written in the same flashy vocabulary. East Coast's buildings are grand and urban, but not metropolitan. They will probably lose the staring contest over the river.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204644504576649502919524580.html?m od=WSJ_NY_RealEstate_MIDDLE_LSMini

[Derek2k3]

I almost choked on my bagel...what a laughable puff-peice. Is the writer from NY?

"The builders built tall, statement-making buildings on small footprints, surrounded by as much green space as possible, giving the whole community a classic Corbusian feel of towers in parks surrounded by highways (the Queens-Midtown tunnel roars open onto I-495."

"We could have made it look like it was built over time, by different architects and developers, and that it sort of emerged organically like the rest of the city, but there is unquestionably also an opportunity to do the reverse and make a grander impact with a coordinated set of buildings—to be bold."

-to be cheap

[antinimby]

These people actually think their buildings are...umm...bold?


Talk about clueless.

[Derek2k3]

The New York Times

Enticing Renters to Cross the Bridge to Queens
By C. J. HUGHES
Published: November 17, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/realestate/posting-queens-more-rentals-planned-in-long-island-city.html


The revels won’t last forever, though. The second and third buildings in Rockrose’s complex, which is to have a total of 1,700 units, for $750 million, will rise on the Palms lot, though no groundbreaking date has been set.
Details are even vaguer about the fourth building, which is to go up next to the shop-turned-restaurant; it could contain condominiums, or even offices, Mr. Elghanayan said....



So four towers likely 400+ feet tall coming to this little Court Square area. I imagine some day all these clusters of high-rises in LIC will become one unified skyline. Watch out Jersey City. In a few decades LIC should have more highrises than Downtown Brooklyn and Jersey City. Too bad all of these areas are developing such mediocre towers. Battle of the banal baby.

[jrosa51894]

:):cool::cool:

[ramvid01]

Looks like the Rockrose (or TF Cornerstone) project by Court Square is really starting to dart up there. The tower portion is starting to rise out of the base.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/kilahace/Architecture%20and%20Construction%20Pictures/2012-01-06153445.jpg

[RoldanTTLB]

Oh look, that other tower in the distance, next to the star tower lot is getting glassed up. The rockrose will go fast now that it's on the tower. I should get by there.

[econ_tim]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6661645693_c2152636b2_z.jpg

[jrosa51894]

Justin Elghanayan: Rockrose Development’s Next GenerationBy Jotham Sederstrom (http://wirednewyork.com/author/jotham-sederstrom/) 1/10 11:58am





[/URL]
In 2009, the brothers behind the Rockrose Development Corporation—Henry, Thomas and Frederick Elghanayan—divided their four-decade business partnership in half, with Frederick and Thomas spinning off to form TF Cornerstone, and Henry staying put at Rockrose with his son, Justin Elghanayan, 33. Since that relatively amicable split, in which the company’s $3 billion empire was divided in half, Henry Elghanayan has rebuilt the portfolio and elevated his son, who has taken the reins as the project manager of Linc LIC, a development in Long Island City, Queens, scheduled to include two residential towers and a retail complex that, when finished in 2013, could breathe new life into the long-simmering neighborhood. Last week, Justin Elghanayan spoke to The Commercial Observer about his family’s recent split, the future of Rockrose and his Long Island City project, which includes what could be the tallest building in Queens.

[URL="http://www.observer.com/2012/01/justin-elghanayan-rockrose-developments-next-generation/elghanayan-for-web/"]http://www.observer.com/files/2012/01/elghanayan-for-web-400x266.jpg (http://www.observer.com/2012/01/justin-elghanayan-rockrose-developments-next-generation/?show=print)Justin Elghanayan. (Photo by Kiki Conway)

The Commercial Observer: What’s the latest with Linc LIC, the 41-story rental tower that Rockrose Development Corporation is building in Long Island City?
Mr. Elghanayan: The first phase is under construction. We started in September, and that’s a 709-unit building that’s now on the 12th floor, and it’s quite amazing how fast it’s going up. I went away for the holiday and I came back and there were, like, three more floors, so it’s really zipping along.
Besides Linc LIC, Rockrose is developing two other parcels at the site. What’s the plan?
The second parcel is a big parcel of land that will have an additional 900 apartments that will go in two phases. And the third parcel of land is right in the middle, and we call it the Triangle. That’s going to go last, and it already has on that lot a garage, which, when I saw it, I just said, “Wow, this has an amazing sense of character and place, a real sense of history and character and a sort of neighborhood identity.”
When you say garage I don’t immediately think character.
It’s not like a parking garage. It’s more like a mechanic’s facility. It has wood-beam ceilings, skylights and high ceilings. And we’re going to put a restaurant there.
Have you found a tenant?
We’re pretty close. It’s going to be very exciting what we do there, and that’s just the existing building. That restaurant’s going to have outdoor space and so you’ll have a sort of beer-garden vibe and atmosphere there, and then we’re going to supplement that with additional activity on that site, which is under development. We’ve already been putting food trucks on the site. We inaugurated the Rockrose Food Truck lot on the Triangle site.

Are there neighborhoods, like Dumbo or Williamsburg, that you’ve been inspired by?

We are creating a neighborhood, but I think the key to me at least is that there’s already this core kernel of spirit in the neighborhood because it has a truly deep artistic and cultural past with PS1 and the SculptureCenter. There’s tons of cultural institutions so it has this sort of gritty, existing artistic vibe, which I think is essential to creating a great neighborhood. So it’s not just like we’re going out into the middle of the desert and saying, you know, ‘We shall proclaim this a cool neighborhood.’ It has this sort of incipient potential, and we just want to draw it out.
In the brief time it was open, M. Wells gained attention in Long Island City and the culinary world. Have you spoken to the M. Wells people about leasing the garage?
We have spoken to them, and I don’t want to speak too much about the leasing of the garage, for now, because it’s not public information yet. But we’ve spoken to several groups, and M. Wells is one of the groups we’ve spoken to.
Rockrose Development has traditionally taken a conservative approach to financing and, in many cases, avoided risky instruments like mezzanine loans. With Linc LIC are you continuing that tradition or have you found new ways to fund the project?
It’s in the same tradition. It’s a $155 million loan, which is consistent on a LTV basis to what we generally do. We’re putting in a massive amount of our own equity with no partners. Our total equity in the deal will be over $100 million so we’re very confident in the neighborhood, as evidenced by our equity contribution. In terms of getting financing, it’s a consortium of three banks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Helaba. I’m not the first one to say this, but the well-established family developers are able to get financing right now and a lot of smaller developers are not, and that’s containing the supply. As a result, we’re seeing healthy rent growth in our portfolio.

[kyle]

Here's the link to the full article if anyone is interested.

http://www.observer.com/2012/01/justin-elghanayan-rockrose-developments-next-generation/

[Derek2k3]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6698777355_7c7d71fea0_b.jpg
jacksommer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacksommer/6698777355/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

[ramvid01]

This tower seems to be sprouting up like a beanstalk. The tower portion is also definitely an L shape, although I am unsure if it actually reaches the street on the other side of the lot (behind the UNICEF Building).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/kilahace/Architecture and Construction Pictures/2012-01-20152959.jpg

[kyle]

This thing is going to be pretty big. 709 or 700+ rental apartments!

[futurecity]

This is fantastic for building a new neighborhood out of an old industrial area and it reminds me of Vancouver-on-East River, although not quite the same.

A bland, but an impressive cluster that will hopefully stir up a new residential district and a vibrant new center for NYC. Bravo, I guess. The only thing I can add is: What a missed opportunity to create something interesting to look at from the river, rather than just a bunch of towers that could be found anywhere in the world. T

[ramvid01]

Another update. Still going up fast. You can't see it from this picture, but on the other side of the building there was a large "Go Giants" sign.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/kilahace/Architecture%20and%20Construction%20Pictures/2012-02-07154641.jpg

[futurecity]

How many more towers are left to build in this complex, and what height is the tallest of the towers?

Are NIMBY's the reason why taller buildings couldn't be constructed here, or is it just to spread out development?

All in all, I'm quite impressed at how an old industrial area is being transformed and how quick these towers are going up. , Frankly, the whole waterfront down to Brooklyn should look great in 10 years. Some of the parks along the water are very nice and should allow for nice walks while viewing Manhattan's skyline.

[ASchwarz]

How many more towers are left to build in this complex, and what height is the tallest of the towers?


This isn't a specific complex. It's a large neighborhood, with massive development potential. The vast, vast majority has yet to be developed.



Are NIMBY's the reason why taller buildings couldn't be constructed here, or is it just to spread out development?

There are plenty of existing and planned tall buildings. The tallest building is nearly 700 ft., and there are plenty of sites for towers of similar height.

Are you asking why there aren't supertalls? There are no supertalls planned anywhere in the U.S. outside of prime parts of Manhattan. Outside of a few Manhattan neighborhoods, supertalls make zero present financial sense, pretty much anywhere in the world.

[futurecity]

This isn't a specific complex. It's a large neighborhood, with massive development potential. The vast, vast majority has yet to be developed.


There are plenty of existing and planned tall buildings. The tallest building is nearly 700 ft., and there are plenty of sites for towers of similar height.

Are you asking why there aren't supertalls? There are no supertalls planned anywhere in the U.S. outside of prime parts of Manhattan. Outside of a few Manhattan neighborhoods, supertalls make zero present financial sense, pretty much anywhere in the world.


What do you mean by planned? Do you have 100% proof that these proposed buildings will be cancelled soon? Otherwise, please don't make such statements.

[ToastyPotato]

I think planned means that they simply have not begun construction yet.

[futurecity]

Nope, that can't be right. There are several proposed/approved, i.e, not U/C.

The one in Miami has a good chance of going ahead IMO. However, unless people have real proof, I would prefer if they not give their opinions as facts. Even the experts are often wrong, so knowledge is not enough to state definitively whether or not something will or will not happen.

[lofter1]

New Rules at WNY ^ :cool:

[ASchwarz]

What do you mean by planned? Do you have 100% proof that these proposed buildings will be cancelled soon? Otherwise, please don't make such statements.

You asked why there were no taller buildings being built in LIC, and I wrote that no area in the country, outside of Midtown Manhattan has taller buildings being built than in LIC.

I don't know what you're referring to re. "100% proof". Are you aware of places outside of Manhattan where the present economics of highrise construction are different? I can't think of any. Certainly not Miami, which has a horrible highrise glut. Obviously some random building could be built somewhere, whether Topeka or Tampa, but I'm talking about overall economics of construction.

The bigger story, however, is that LIC is still in its relative infancy. We still have yet to see how the area emerges.

[futurecity]

You asked why there were no taller buildings being built in LIC, and I wrote that no area in the country, outside of Midtown Manhattan has taller buildings being built than in LIC.

I don't know what you're referring to re. "100% proof". Are you aware of places outside of Manhattan where the present economics of highrise construction are different? I can't think of any. Certainly not Miami, which has a horrible highrise glut. Obviously some random building could be built somewhere, whether Topeka or Tampa, but I'm talking about overall economics of construction.

The bigger story, however, is that LIC is still in its relative infancy. We still have yet to see how the area emerges.

Well, I think you worded your response wrong. No supertalls planned outside NYC is just not true. Planned doesn't mean 'being built', it means proposed. You confused me, you should have said U/C.

[infoshare]

Well, I think you worded your response wrong. No supertalls planned outside NYC is just not true. Planned doesn't mean 'being built', it means proposed. You confused me, you should have said U/C.
Oh, shut up already.."..hehe