Corner site of the controversial CUNY dorm building, 46th Rd & 5th St, LIC

Hunters Point new development fanatics: remember our mystery development at 46th Rd & 5th St? Well we did solve the mystery a while ago, that the site is (was?) to be a CUNY dorm.

According to an article released today in the Daily News:

“The initial proposal, which called for a 13-story residential building on Fifth St. with 169 apartments, ground-floor retail and 220 grad-student dormitory units, was unanimously rejected by Community Board 2′s land use committee in November.”

The main reason for rejection was the lack of community use, and a concern on the part of local residents that in the face of so much high-rise condo development, such a large scale dorm will add little value to the hood.

“Now the owner, OCA LIC, plans to reintroduce the plan this spring, and has offered space to the Queens Council on the Arts to sweeten the deal…”

• L.I.C. strife over CUNY dorm plans [Daily News]

• liQcity flickr set of the development site

Ruins in LIC – the Schwartz Chemical Factory demolished

I was walking around the Gantry Park and Queenswest this afternoon during the tail end of the snow, and I discovered the ruins of the building next to the Powerhouse on the corner of 50th Ave & 2nd St. It was the Schwartz Chemical Factory. There were tennis courts in the last incarnation of this building, and from word on the street, it seems this site is going to be part of the Powerhouse empire. So far it’s called Powerhouse 2.

There’s been some interesting conversation lately about what’s going on with the real estate and development in the hood. Well it’s been going on for a while, but in the last couple of weeks on liQcity there’s been a lot of negative commentary towards new construction and the ‘yuppification’ of LIC.

Coming across another piece of history being wiped out is definitely a sad moment for me, but after watching it day after day for 4ish years, I’m almost getting used to it. Center Blvd is a whole new world, and it’s not necessarily pretty, but for some reason LIC hasn’t yet lost it’s magic. It’s still surprisingly quiet and peaceful despite all the construction going on.

Aah, but that’s not what it’s really about though, is it? »

Who’s got the power?

1) Starbucks is coming to LIC. (deep sigh – c’mon we knew it was inevitable) One spot is the Eastcoast building, the other is an undisclosed location somewhere in Vernon/Jackson. We will keep you updated on that one fa sho.

2) The Zipper Building is not owned by Toll Brothers. We were misinformed. And strangely so, since the tipster was a Toll-er. Hmmm. Won’t be trusting that source again. Anyway, it’s a private owner (we could give you the property report page, but it’s boring) – the buzz is he’s holding for $20M. In the face of the July 2008 421-a expiration, we think that might be a long shot, but building owners in LIC (and NYC) can definitely be described as tenacious.

3) Trump’s son coming to Queens Plaza? Very random and vague tip about the progeny and a few partners from Long Island in contract on a conversion property on Jackson. Hmmm.

4) Stay tuned for some updates on the mystery dev located on Thompson & Purves, right near the Arris Lofts. Between Arris, the Purves siblings…there’s another condo building coming. Will they get the foundation poured by July 2008? Inquiring minds want to know.

5) The Powerhouse is looking nice, no?

This is not the usual rat one sees at a construction site, or is it?

Yesterday, liQity photographer Jenni Snead stumbled across a union protest against One Hunters Point for employing non-union workers:

“The first thing I saw when I came out of the subway was the giant, blow-up strike rat on the corner of Vernon & Borden. I snapped a few shots and spoke briefly with the strikers, who claimed they had been on this site for months now, just not with the inflatable rat. I got a photo of one of the guy’s embroidered jacket – Dockbuilders Local Union 1456″. I wandered away when one of the construction workers walked down to the picket line and started getting upset, saying not to take his picture, etc.”

Hmmm, a union striker not wanting publicity? Interesting. Anyway, we hope the giant rat scares away the real ones.

Giant rat to scale »

Arris Lofts at 27-28 Thomson Ave, Courthouse Square, LIC

I visited Arris Lofts a long time ago, back in the day when they were still cool. IE before all the Arris bashing began on curbed.com. I can’t really say I blame the bashers, since the building had some ‘curiosities’ even before we heard about the hookers.

For those not in the know, Arris Lofts hit the market last year, and wins the prize for being the most controversial development project in LIC. What they did right: they didn’t knock the building down, but renovated that gorgeous, odd-shaped industrial building; they emphasized large windows and the high ceilings (both already there, but Arris needs points so let’s give them another one), they used Costas Kondylis. Well that last one remains to be seen, because even on my visit I was very confused by 1BR’s with 2.5 bathrooms, and the kitchen being just a console on the living room wall.

Anyway, after all the hoopla, turns out Arris Lofts is still buzzing through the wire, and word’s not so good. Except for this word.

• Reader Rant: ‘Revolt Brewing’ at LIC’s Arris Lofts [Curbed]

• Arris Lofts Website

Casa Vizcaya’s coming along nicely. Haven’t seen too much chatter about this development, except of course, the usual LIC bashing on curbed. A search for listings pulls up seven, all listed by Corcoran. Seems like prices have dropped since the original offerings, but don’t quote me on that.

As an interesting side note, these are the same developers bringing us the Kimaya Lofts on Jackson Ave.

For some more construction shots on the Viz, as well as a glimpse of what else is on that street, check out our flickr set. One lucky bonus Casa Vizcaya enjoys, is the proximity to my favorite bar in LIC, the LIC bar on the corner of 46th Rd & Vernon. Killer place.

Seems there could be a whole blog just dedicated to Name That Development in Hunters Point, considering how many there are.

Well, regardless, here’s another one discovered: 44-30 Purvis (aka Purves) St. This site also wraps around to Thompson, facing a very notorious neighbor: Arris Lofts. Maybe the hookers will expand their territory? Well, they’ll have to wait a while, because it looks like the development site is still up for sale. Here’s the listing, as advertised by Greiner-Maltz.

For some more shots of the dev site, including a peek through the fence, check out the flickr set.

I’ve been reading the Streeteasy message boards about LIC. Interesting stuff. One thread was a throwdown between LIC and Downtown Brooklyn (newly dubbed as DoBro). DoBro won on the amenities, since LIC’s $/sqft for luxury condos seems to be in about the same range. YES. DoBro should win on the amenities, but is that all a neighborhood comes down to? LIC never was, will be, or wants to be Downtown Brooklyn. LIC’s an industrial neighborhood that’s been heavily rezoned and is beginning to introduce the largest influx of residents in its history. DoBro, while it was and is a major commercial district, was not primarily an industrial hub and has a totally different aesthetic. It also has the Fulton Mall.

Bottom-line. If you don’t like an industrial aesthetic, don’t move to LIC. Even though, as some message board posters stated, the look of the new condos conjures up visions of Hoboken or Houston (?), the existing and surrounding aesthetic is primarily INDUSTRIAL. These were factories, people. Big, gigantic, fuel dumping factories. (Is there residual toxic pollution? YES. But that’s for another post.)

LIC’s amenities are lacking if you consider the $/sqft on a lot of the new luxury condos. Most of the marketing seems to be aimed at the convenience of Manhattan commuting, which is wise since it’s LIC’s strong point as a marketable neighborhood for new development. But amenities will always show up if the people do. Look at any neighborhood where there was a major influx of residents into a primarily industrial neighborhood. SoHo. Tribeca. Are there amenities there? I’ll let you answer that for yourself.