LIC’s real estate garden still blooming despite development slowdown
Tishman Speyer’s Gotham Center, Queensboro Plaza, Long Island City
On the real estate front in Long Island City, things are not as gloomy as they could be. Despite the cease-fire on most of the pending development since the expiration of Hunters Point’s precious 421-a tax abatement program, and… oh yes, the collapse of the global economy, there are still multiple developments that appear to be approaching fruition:
Tishman Speyer‘s massive Gotham Center, for one, is on the rise – the steel beamed structure is now towering over Queensboro Plaza and surrounding buildings. The $316M, 662,000 SF, 21-story Class A office building is part of the first phase of the proposed 3.5-million SF Gotham Center project. It will contain about 9,400 SF of ground-floor retail space and more than 180 parking spaces, and late last year a deal was struck to move the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and 2,700 of its employees to the building. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out, however, considering Tishman Speyer’s current Stuy Town predicament…
Silvercup’s Linea building, 44th Drive, Long Island City
Although their Silvercup West development is widely known to be on hold, Silvercup Studios’ boxy Linea building, a 10-story, 81 unit condo nestled between 21st St and 23rd St, still seems to be going up strong over on 44th Drive.
10-17 Jackson Condos, corner of Vernon Blvd & Jackson Ave, Long Island City
The Studio V-designed 10-17 Jackson condo has also been speeding along in its development at the corner of Vernon Blvd and Jackson Ave. Final renderings of the triangular 33-unit (6 two bedrooms, 27 one bedrooms) glass, steel, and aluminum structure have been floating around since earlier this year, but recently the interior designs became available as well. Via AFineBlog, Studio V is expecting the building’s completion by the year’s end, after which they’ll have to decide whether to “move forward with condos, rent the apartments or come up with another scheme.”
Murano Condos, Borden Ave @ 5th St, Long Island City
And finally, the condo with the impending 24-hour multicolor LED light clock: the Murano. The 11-story, 76-unit condo has been getting glassier since last we checked, and fancy new interior and exterior design renderings have been added to their website, including the up-until-now mysterious, moat-like water feature. Via AFineBlog, there are 32 one bedrooms (675-807 SF), 40 two bedrooms (890-1313 SF), 4 three bedrooms (1547-1558 SF), and private balconies and terraces in select units (24-1532 SF). Also, you can now make a priority appointment to see the building before it opens to the public.
Not sure what constitutes “the middle of nowhere” to you, #1, but unless I’m mistaken (I lived in LIC for 35 years–right around the corner from this new building–but haven’t been back in a few), that Silvercup building is about a half-block from the east and west entrances of the V and E line at 23rd/Ely (one stop from Manhattan). Same distance from the Citigroup towers, Brook’s restaurant, and a couple of blocks from a variety of restaurants, bars, bodegas, and so on. PS 1 and Manducati’s are a 10 minute walk away. What am I missing about the building’s being beyond the pale.
anyone have any insight what type of retail gotham center might bring
#2 you should add that it is half a block from a subermarket and other small retail. It is also across the street from a very good italian restaurant and a block from Citibank.
Obviously #1 you never venture past Vernon. I live around the corner from where the Silver Cup building is being built (unfortunately it will be 10 stories high which will tower over the present buildings) and it is far from being in the middle of nowhere. Explore your neighborhood!!! A couple of weeks ago this part of Hunters Point/LIC was called a wasteland. Actually, please stay away. We like it quiet over here.
What makes you think #1 lives near Vernon Becca? Everything with you is ‘anti-development’ on every LIC website.
And up until recently Brooks wasn’t even open on the weekend! And only now is open Saturdays nights. The deli near Arris just closed. That Wasabi and Tomato place closed within the year too. There’s just not much there. Yeah I know a burger place is going in where the Wasabi place was, but good luck to them in this economy.
I think it’s wrong to assume that being against height and mass means one is anti-development. We keep getting the argument that development is only financially feasible on a grand scale. It’s a false argument that is a smoke screen designed to play down and in fact thwart the potential for small scale growth in order to allow only megabuck projects.
And if they fail, developers generally get out alive and the rest of us are left with a broken neighborhood. New London is a great example of how it works:
http://tinyurl.com/yh6y3rt
Pfizer should be held accountable, along with government. It astounds me the degree of short sightedness in this world. It’s justification blinding all the decision makers because they are each getting a piece of a large greedy pie at the exspense of others. Disgusting.
i like the area where linea is located, i think building close to the subway will in the long term benefit the most when this area really grows. buildings like vere,linea,and vantage which are all undesirable today-due to their distance from the water, will over time begin to have advantages. i really like the courthouse square area
The Courthouse square are will very likely develop over time and is a good location in terms of transportation, but #1 is not completely wrong, that area, especially 44th drive itself, is not a hospitable neighborhood. Like much of the rest of LIC, for every residential building there is also a faceless light industry/warehouse building with a metal shutter and no name. Those buildings detract from a vibrant residential neighborhood, no question. I think we can all agree that LIC is nice and quiet and we like it, but it has a long way to go to being a fully-formed residential neighborhood and #1 is right that the Linea is not in an immediately desirable location. Since when is being near the Citibank buildings a perk?
Courthouse square is similar to the waterfront about 5 or 6 years ago. In time it will come along, but in the short term the waterfront is much more livable with a wider selection of stores, resturants, markets, etc.
i was curious to see how tishman speyer’s whole fiasco with stuy town might effect gotham center – but at least building #1 is still coming along quickly…still hoping commercial space gets filled over here on crescent street first – i’m rooting for a CVS pharmacy…
Tishman has very little equity in on the Stuy Town deal. The lenders will take a bath, but Tishman will only lose what little equity they put into the deal. I remember reading that it was below $200M which if true is a drop in the bucket for these guys. They are not stupid and I doubt they offered additional secrity under the loans which basically means you hand of the keys to the banks and let them sort the mess out. I’m sure it will hurt, but that money was going to be tied up in that complex for years. It’s not like this is going to push them into bankrupcy. They will be fine.
read somewhere a duane reade was planned for courthouse square, so cvs may go elsewhere
Some how I have managed to survive living in a “wasteland” and “the middle of nowhere” for 14 years. #6, why do you hide behind an anonymous posting like pretty much everyone on this blog? What are you afraid of? I have never said I was anti- development. I just believe that retaining light and a smaller foot print to be better. I like having sunshine in my apartment and in my neighborhood. It is really wonderful to see the open sky.
Ya know those luxury kondozes at hunters point that L haus and the dumb one next to it…I pick up my GF 9-30 atthe 7 train and I see maybe 3 or 4 apartments with the lights on…..
Yes we NEED so many more luxury paces to live in LIC
who hoo
True they are far worse…… the 421 tax abatement was the biggest gift to the builders…no taxes for 15 years so we can jack up the price of arris lofts $250,000 each and you were so dumb to fall for the trick.
After all all you care about is how much a month…
The tax abatement should have only been for condozes under $250,000 let the rich pay full price
———————–
On the real estate front in Long Island City, things are not as gloomy as they could be.
There goes Becca again saying how many years she has lived in LIC. Like somehow someone who just moved here is less ‘worthy’ of having an opinion than her. People were there before you too Becca, but somehow you’re the expert on how things should be here even though you don’t own and can, and probably will, leave at any time. Why should LIC be built around the wants of temporary people?
If you were here 14 years ago, you should have bought something back then. It would have appreciated 10x what you paid then. I think that’s why you’re so bitter.
I don’t detect any bitterness in Becca’s comment. Are you perhaps projecting? I think she’s simply pointing out that some people seem to think that all this hyped up development is somehow imparting wondrous things to a previously desolate place. There was indeed life here before and it was pretty damn pleasant. I’m not against development either. I’m not fond of the small percentage of the obnoxious entitled that came in on the most recent wave. No one really likes them other than the brokers.
The nearby L-Haus has been trying to sell apartments since Nov. 2008 and still only has 13% in contract or sold. I blame high asking prices and too many 2BR and 3BR units. What people want most is affordable 1BR’s. I foresee the same problem happening wth these new condos.
Crescent Club is in the process of being foreclosed by the bank. This means it will probably be sold off quickly at below market prices. How are these new buildings going to compete with that…
I love LIC! All of it! Every building has its charm and also has its downfalls. This neighborhood rules. When these condos are all filled up and stores everywhere, jackson st. redone, more outdoor park places… all connecting hunters point to Court Sq area all the way to the bridge. Nobody is in the middle of nowhere here!
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how are they going to get anyone to move into these places? Only one that seems like it has some hope is the one near vernon/jackson (without knowing anything about the building, prices, etc… except that it has a good location). that silvercup building is in the middle of nowhere….