Solarium’s wind turbines, LIC

Buzz on New New Developments

• Solarium: LIC’s first green condo development is getting fitted for their roof-top wind turbines. The Solarium is going for a silver rating under the National Green Building Program.

• One Vernon Jackson: The glassy, silvery-white, perforated, prow-topped LIC condo formerly known as 10-17 Jackson has officially been re-dubbed with a fancy moniker, and now has a website touting their “33 award-winning residences” and the fact that the building is “wrapped in a translucent screen of perforated aluminum and glass.” It’s located, of course, “at the juncture of Long Island City’s defining thoroughfares” where “edges dissolve into the sky.” Sales start now.

• Murano Condos: The lightclock has been fired up. Still awaiting the moat »

Good to be green: Murano Condo fires up its light clock, Borden Ave, LIC

The tale of Murano Condo and the technicolor lightclock has finally come to fruition. Or, as our tipster humorously exclaimed: IT’S ALIVE! We spotted the condo’s lobby lights putting on a show back in Dec., but now the real light show has begun »

Dutch Kills, Dec ’09, Long Island City

Back in December we did a little update on the veritable development rampage that has blown up in the Dutch Kills region of LIC. You know: the hotel boom, ripped up lots, towering new buildings squeezed between family homes, the whole 9 yards. Recently, some more attention has been given to the residential rezoning that has drastically transformed the area. Now that the zoning ‘growing pains’ are over (are they?), the media pops the question: is DK ready to be the Next Big Thing? »

We give our local biz sponsors a lot of love, and it’s time to give some to the real estate that makes Long Island City go around (and around). It’s the official start of the NYC real estate season anyway (cue gunshot), and what better way to celebrate than running around Hunters Point looking at condos? We can’t think of any.

Oh and if you packed your winter stuff early, you might want to pull out a jacket – the summer tease is officially over and this weekend’s got a little bite. Regardless, consider the ball thrown onto the field. Game on »

Queens Plaza hotel site, LIC

Looks like the hotelification of Long Island City is experiencing a hiccup… one of the more prominent hotels planned for Queens Plaza has been Starwood Capital‘s ‘W Hotel’ offshoot ‘Aloft’, which is now officially in foreclosure, and worse:

“Lender U.S. Bank won a judgment for $17.2 million, in a decision published yesterday, against a developer that sought to build a Starwood Aloft hotel in Long Island City, but the project stalled and the site remains vacant »

NSFW photo ahead. Our first ever, and despite Long Island City’s abundance of endangered strip clubs, it’s all about a sexy condo development.

Blinding us with science. – Murano Condos, Long Island City

But not just yet. The new Murano Condo building on Borden Ave at 5th St, is already living up to its name. Notwithstanding the pending 24-hour lightclock, the glassy box is absolutely blinding just as it is right now. The lack of obstruction from the south (just the LIRR tracks and wide open space) lets the sun shine down on this prism, which ironically was the original name for the development. Sunglasses are officially required once within a two block radius of the building.

Ok, now on to the sexy stuff »

Two Gotham Center shot from Queensboro Plaza platform, Long Island City

Tishman Speyer‘s mixed-use Queens Plaza giant, the Class A office tower Two Gotham Center, was officially topped off in Long Island City last week at 21 stories. They’re looking forward to a ribbon-cutting in early 2011, but although that’s still some ways off, this is a definite step towards completion of the proposed 3.5-million SF Gotham Center development.

Via Tishman Speyer’s blog »

10-17 Jackson Condo, Long Island City

We’ve been following the unmistakable 10-17 Jackson development for awhile now, since somewhat around this time last year. It went up in the triangular lot on the corner of Vernon Blvd and Jackson Ave and is one of Long Island City’s recent developments to nudge the finish line, despite the current condo-buying climate.

Broker-blogger Andrew Fine initially broke the news about the project and has been delivering updates ever since. Until yesterday, it remained to be seen whether the Studio V-designed development would go rental or condo. In his latest update, Fine reports that 10-17 Jackson will in fact be going condo, and with light-flooded rooms, 11+ foot ceilings, and signature LIC views – even from the shower – to boot »

Solarium Condo penthouse, 5-43 48th Ave, Long Island City

As the Long Island City condo development pauses for station identification, a few lucky construction projects have successfully made it to the finish line. The Solarium, now open for sales, is marketing itself as the first green condo development in Hunters Point, and is bolting out of the gate with a starting average price point of roughly $700/SF. Studios start in the $400K’s, 2BRs at $700K, and 3BR are $1.1M and up »

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 »

L Haus Condo near the Pulaski Bridge, Long Island City

Best wishes for a Happy New Year. As we come to the end of 2009, we’d like to extend a thank you to our real estate sponsors for their support of liQcity »

The light clock materializes: Murano Condo, Borden Ave, Long Island City

We’ve been hearing about the Murano – the ‘aurora borealis’ of Long Island City condos – for quite awhile now, but the mystical rainbow light show of the newest building on Borden Ave seems to have taken a giant step towards realization »

Inside the Hotel Indigo LLC lot, Dutch Kills, Long Island City

While the Long Island City focus has always been on the Queens West waterfront and Hunters Point, Dutch Kills – loosely defined as the area just north of Queens Plaza, heading up towards Astoria – has been quietly gentrifying itself into a frenzy. Not only have two new hotels gone up a block or two from each other on Crescent St (Country Inn & Suites and the Ramada), but lots are being ripped up, developments are starting and stopping and starting again, and towering buildings are settling into quiet blocks lined with family houses. Sigh.

Dutch Kills began its recent transformation after some crafty developers took advantage of the city dragging their feet (for, um, three years) when it came to rezoning the neighborhood to allow for medium-density residential development. Last time we ventured into this strange and rapidly developing land of churches, hotels, small houses, and construction lots, it was actually one of the hottest days of this past summer. Needless to say, we thought it was time for a wintry Dutch Kills update »

Crescent Club Condos, LIC

Oh, Crescent Club. What has happened there? The unfortunates in contract seem to be log-jammed in a buyers remorse situation that has everyone seeing stars. And not the good kind.

Quick condo buying recap 101: when one purchases new construction in progress and the closing doesn’t occur by a certain date (usually contract specific), one enters a rescission period during which it’s possible to legally opt out of the contract and received a full refund on the deposit held in escrow by the developer.

Clearly the Crescent Club developers are having serious financial troubles because they’ve failed to complete the building by all deadlines, and have now reached a second round of irate condo buyers in their rescission period trying to get their deposits back (as documented in forum/comment threads here and here).

Here’s the sordid story direct from a Crescent Club buyer via email »

Rendering of 10 Court Square, Court Square, Long Island City

We’ll just say it: the future of Long Island City is in Court Square. (Dissenters, take to the comments as usual.) The super-subway-connected area that is undergoing massive change at the moment is only going to be overhauled even further in the coming months. The subway transfer is in progress, Jackson Ave is being, er, ‘beautified’ while new businesses are slowly filling in, the tallest outer borough hotel is set for the area, and interestingly, Rockrose is looking forward to several drastic transformations »

Hunters Point South rendering, Long Island City

The proposed Hunters Point South affordable housing project is heavily in the news these days. The latest buzz is about the newly released plans for HPS’s 11-acres of waterfront public parkland, which will be constructed in phases, starting at the north end by 50th Avenue and eventually expanding southward to Newtown Creek:

• Designs for the park were presented at a CB2 meeting on November 19th, and were apparently “well received, although several LIC residents voiced concerns about the city’s plans to cover the park’s largest open area with artificial turf, and others pressed planners to include a community boathouse in the plans.”

• The park will include »

Rendering of Z Hotel, 43rd Ave & 11th St, Long Island City

Z Hotel, the hotel that was aiming to bring a “Gansevoort Hotel-like vibe” to LIC, has been popping up on the wire since as far back as 2007. Via the signage at the development site on 43rd Ave & 11th St, the 10-story, 100 room building that will be used as a hotel and restaurant is scheduled to be completed by June 2010, and as you can see, Z Hotel is well on its way. It’s HUGE, and the “razor-thin form” originally mentioned on architect Andre Kikoski’s website has materialized as well »

Many local residents around the Court Square area had reported that Marriott was running around trying to buy air rights to add to their “20+ story hotel” in the same spot(s) that had been purchased by the Toyoko Inn last year. Well, the rumors seem to be a bust this time, because Real Deal has the scoop that not only is Toyoko Inn going forward, they are bringing to the corner of Jackson Ave and 23rd St, the tallest hotel in the outer boroughs, and the 22nd tallest in NYC. Thirty-five stories, 385 feet, and 699 rooms.

• Japanese firm plans largest borough hotel [The Real Deal]

Just to recap the hotel development in Long Island City, here’s a quick list of what’s open and in the works, supposedly »

East Coast compound at Queenswest, Hunters Point, Long Island City

For a while now, there’s been buzz on the Long Island City sidewalks about the corporate divorce of the Elghanayan brothers’ well known development company, Rockrose. There were many conflicting rumors flying around (aren’t there always?), and now it seems the Real Deal has managed to get a decent grasp on the split, and the impact to the company’s vast holdings in NYC, including multiple large scale residential and commercial projects in Hunters Point »

Price/SF Average LIC Condo sales in 2nd Quarter 2009, — LIC Real Estate Market Report from Modern Spaces

The brokers at Modern Spaces have issued their first Long Island City Quarterly Real Estate Market report, and their news is good for condo sales:

“Overall
 market 
prices 
have 
stayed 
consistent 
and 
stabilized 
through out
 the 
neighborhood
 with
 developers 
understanding 
the 
need 
to 
be
 competitive
 during
 these
 times. 

Buyers 
have 
come 
out 
much
 stronger 
in 
the 
2nd 
quarter 
as 
the 
sentiment 
of 
an 
approaching 
bottom
 has
 been 
felt, 
bringing
 buyers 
off
 the 
sidelines
 and 
back 
looking 
for 
smart 
long
 term
 investments.

 1st 
time
 Buyers 
have
 been
 the 
biggest
 addition
 to 
the 
neighborhood 
many 
of 
which 
rented 
in 
LIC 
for 
1‐2
 years 
as 
they 
tested 
out 
the 
neighborhood 
before 
committing 
with 
a 
purchase.

”

There 
has 
also 
been 
an 
increase 
in 
demand 
»

Long Island City Getty Gas Station to become bakery, 11th St @ 47th Rd

A while back, word came through the wire about the transformation of the Getty Gas Station (just the old auto-shop component, not the gas pumps) on 11th St @ 47th Road, into an ‘adaptive reuse bakery’ with a facade comprised of rolling pins. Well, it was speculated that this very, uh, creative renovation project was just a concept, not an actual plan. Au contraire! The plan is very much alive, and in fact, underway »

Purple Pumpkin closes doors on Vernon Blvd, Long Island City

Well, well, well. How things can change so dramatically from one season to the next. 2008 saw more business openings in Long Island City than we could keep up with, and now in 2009 we’re seeing more retail vacancies than ever in Vernon/Jackson, including multiple businesses which seem to have gone under.

Next Level Floral didn’t even bother with the signs. They just quietly disappeared from their Vernon Blvd storefront (at 44th Drive) without a peep. The Purple Pumpkin has also closed their doors on Vernon, but are keeping up business activity on the website. It’s rumored that another Vernon business might move into the space, but it’s speculation at the moment so we’ll just leave it at that. Spa DiSilva didn’t even get officially started, but now they’re officially finished, and the retail space is for rent.

Generally, things are looking pretty bleak for retail on Vernon right now. Vacancies include »

The View at East Coast condos, advertising on Vernon Blvd, Long Island City

If you thought it would be a cold day in hell before condo developers in Long Island City gave money back guarantees on sales…. well that day might be today. Cold Indeed.

Rockrose Development Corp, the developers behind The View at East Coast condos, are offering their version of a Money Back Guarantee to the next crop of buyers »

View from the Prestige Condos, Hunters Point, Long Island City

The Fall condo bloom in Long Island City is continued by the Prestige Condos, formerly known as Greenview. Low-rise building and open lofts with more than decent views. Virtual doorman, rooftop gym, built in apt speakers, storage, and standard luxury applicance offerings. You know.

Clocking in »

Aah, we spoke too soon. Or too late, depending on how you look at it »