It’s been reported that Dutch Kills is headed for hotel-land, thanks to developers trying to beat out impending re-zoning. Though this site is a little remote, Queens Plaza in general is actually a decent spot for hotels… maybe not right now, since it has some serious cleaning up to do, but judging from the amount of slated development, and also the prime subway location, Dutch Kills is really just a neighborhood in waiting. It’s only a matter of time.

Astoria Grand Hotel, 39th Ave & 29th St, Dutch Kills, LIC

Here’s a hotel sprouting up on 39th Ave & 29th St (gotta learn those Queens streets) that we’ve been trying to identify for weeks. Eureka! It’s going to be the Astoria Grand Hotel. liQcity photographer, Jenni Snead reports:

“As I’m nearing the mystery construction of 39th ave & 29th st, I hear some little kids say, “Thats gonna be a nice hotel”. I asked a construction worker on a cigarette break, and sure enough, it’s going to be a hotel. Seems like an odd location for one, but whatever. It’s called the Astoria Grand Hotel and here’s the contact info: Jung T Lee, 917.733.3066. So that solves that mystery. The architect is Peter Casini.”

Queens Plaza, as it looks today

In the Starwood Capital pipeline, is an alofts Hotel at 29-43 41st Ave in Dutch Kills, aptly dubbed ‘By the Bridge’. That would be the Queensboro Bridge folks, and this building is right at the entrance juncture with Northern Blvd. It’s slated to be completed in 2010, which will probably be a development crazed time for QP, since so many projects are in the pipeline for that ‘little’ spot.

As I’ve said before, Queens Plaza and Dutch Kills are rife with potential. Not to mention that Queensboro Plaza has so much development planned within the next 5 years, that 10 years from now the area will be unrecognizable. Which is a good thing. It’s inarguably kind of a dump right now. alofts dwellers won’t really have to worry about that though - it’s right next to the Queens Plaza subway stop so they’ll be whisked away into Manhattan before they choke on car fumes.

• Starwood Hotels pipeline

Toyoko Inn development site, Jackson Ave, Courthouse Sq

If you thought the only hotels going up in LIC were in Dutch Kills, oh boy were you wrong. A while ago it was announced that a Japanese hotel chain, Toyoko Inn, purchased 5 adjacent parcels of land on Jackson Ave for for $17.75M. The parcels are located in Courthouse Square at 2405, 2409, 2411-2415, 2417 and 2419 Jackson Avenue. It’s a huge footprint!

• Long Island City is turning Japanese [Curbed]

Development in Dutch Kills

Back in 2003, Dutch Kills residents feared the neighborhood was being overdeveloped and requested rezoning to encourage residential growth and downsize commercial development. Some forward thinking there. Flash to 2008 when there are so many hotels and new condo buildings in progress it’s impossible to count them all.

Amongst the community complaints: growing lack of parking, inappropriate commercial development, carelessness in handing out business permits, and overly high density in general. The city responded in agreement with Dutch Kills civic leaders, but have been slow to implement the rezoning, and commercial developers have still been snapping up development sites faster than you can say ‘Environmental Impact Study”, which is what is supposedly holding up the rezoning.

Of course »

A common sight in LIC these days.

Top o’ the very cold morning to you, liQcity readers. Dutch Kills hoteliers might have to jump through some more hoops; the fire sale is over. The mammoth Silvercup development is being held up due to toxicity in the soil. Yawn.

• LIC Hotel developers face a more difficult approval process [NY Sun]

• Silvercup Studios development plans halted due to…dirt problems? [NY Magazine]

• Painter’s show opens at The Space [Times Ledger]

• Get NYC Moving Transportation Alternatives volunteer opportunity in LIC [Streetsblog]

Development in Dutch Kills, LIC

Aah, the rezoning of Dutch Kills. A quieter saga, but of epic proportions nonetheless. It seems that finally when the rezoning is set for May, to help curb the hotelification of DK, a group of commercial property owners called The Purple People are standing up against it, claiming that it will destroy the growth of business in the community.

“Inhabiting the purple and blue shaded area of the rezoning map, the group says rezoning, as is, will cause a loss of 826,000 square feet of industrial space, 2,066 jobs and millions of dollars in annual tax revenues to the city.

The Dutch Kills rezoning has been on the drawing board for years. When the Department of City Planning (DCP) introduced a final plan in May 2006, it looked like a reality. Joy Chen, DCP liaison to Community Board 1, said the plan should be certified and ready for review by the board in late May. It would rezone a 40-block area that is now mostly zoned manufacturing into more mixed-use residential zones.”

• The down-zoning of Dutch Kills [Queens Gazette]

View 59 and the Ciampa rental building, Dutch Kills, LIC

Well the quiet saga of development in Dutch Kills marches on. The Ciampa rental building, which has been in the works for quite some time, is bringing View 59 some new neighbors. Info on this rental building is hard to find, but we expect to see some listings soon. If anyone comes across them, feel free to send them our way.

Most of the press lately about Dutch Kills »