Condo Explosion in LIC North/Queens Plaza
Future Silver Cup West
Future "Star Tower" (dearchny.com)
Future Karl Fischer Project, "Queens Plaza" (kfarchitect.com)
Fr. left: Fusion, Future Star Tower, Future Tishman Office Tower
View 59 (Oct 2, 2007)
Crescent Club (Oct 2, 2007)
fr left: View 59, Unnamed rental, Crecent Club, Queens Plaza
The boom is officially on in the once neglected, yet incredibly convenient, Queens Plaza/ Long Island City North area one subway stop from 59th and Lex. The skyline, now just noticeably changing, will be unrecognizable by 2010. Up and Down Queens Boulevard and 2 blocks North and South from the East River to Jackson Avenue everything is changing, and the sky is clearly not the limit. Among the many projects in the area:
1- Queens Plaza Makeover- $28 Million dollars of Federal and City money has been dedicated to making the plaza park like and pedestrian friendly. The project is due to break ground imminently and will include a 1.5 acre park where a parking lot exists at the intersection of Jackson and Queens Boulevard.
2- The Fusion Condo- It's officially open and people are happily moving into the luxury condo at Hunter and Orchard. Prices for the remaining 5 units, fully decked out with Viking Kitchen and Spa baths start just under $700/ft..
3- View 59 Condo- At the foot of the 59th Street Bridge and Crescent Street, this 35 unit lux condo has a few units left starting in the mid-$600's per square foot and begin move-ins in early 2008.
4- Crescent Club Condo- I got a sneak peak at this gem yesterday. This Karl Fischer/Andres Escobar effort has virtually every amenity imaginable including 69' outdoor lap pool. Initial pricing (likely to be amended up soon) is just under $600psf. Crescent Club is across the street from View 59 on Crescent Street.
5- Unnamed rental building- Just North of View 59 and West of Crescent Club. Not much info on this one, it is about 10 stories and still growing. It looks like all units will have terraces and should be finished in 2008.
6- Queens Plaza Condo- Just North of Crescent Club, already open, this condo was first in this area, prices were around $600 psf.
7- Silver Cup West Project- On the South Side of the Bridge on the East River, this mammoth $1 Billion, 2.7 Million SF mixed use project winding it way through approvals. It will consist of 3 Towers ranging from 40-60 stories, will include 1000 condo apartments, office and retail space, as well as 8 new sound stages. If my numbers are off by a bit, forgive me, as there has not been much news on this project in the past year. Completion was originally scheduled for 2010.
8- Tishman Tower Site- On Jackson and Queens Plaza, currently the site of the biggest eyesore in the area, the municipal parking garage, Tishman is expected to erect a 40 story, "Class A" office building.
9- Star Tower- Demolition is to start soon on the former home of the Long Island Star Newspaper across Hunter Street from Fusion and the future Tishman Tower. This ultra-lux condo by the Roe Corporation will rise 25 stories and should begin marketing in early 2008.
10- "Queens Plaza", a 500,000 sf, 39 story hotel/condo combination just West of View 59 on Queens Plaza North. This Karl Fischer effort has broken ground and bears a faint resemblance to The Chrysler Building.
I'm sure that I haven't covered it all, and there are some attractive development parcels on the market that have not yet been spoken for, so, I assume that there is a lot more to come. If you have interest in buying a condo or development site in the area, as usual feel free to contact me, and stay tuned for updates.
How about you stop spamming criagslist with all your non-existent apts?
ReplyDeleteThey all exist, if they didn't I wouldn't be selling them.
ReplyDelete"How about you stop spamming criagslist with all your non-existent apts?"
ReplyDeleteWow, amen to that. They may exist, but enough already!
Just trying to make a living here folks, and I am a fanatic about LIC. I hope, at the least, that you find my blog posts informative. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteI love the blog! Keep up the good work and thank you.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan as well, but what happened to the Harlem posts? That's how I hound this blog a few months ago. It seems like LIC all the time, can we get some more Harlem?
ReplyDeleteThanks to both the support and critique. I wanted to get up to LIC North before I went back to Harlem. I promise a good Harlem blog post soon, no later than next week. Curbed had a nice post on the Poko "loft" project on West 115th recently..but I'll get to the new Harlem projects next week.
ReplyDeleteI noticed you and your family live on the UES. How can you be so gung ho on an area that is full of ho's. I considered buying a condo in LIC in some of the buildings you like until I ACTUALLY went to look at the area. Very skanky. Wouldn't live there for half the cost. Gonna take more than ten years for it to get better. That Queens Plaza subway station is scary.
ReplyDeletethats why its an investment. in the mid 600s with convenience to manhattan, I dont see a downside.
ReplyDeleteThat so called park they say they are putting in will be an absolute joke. It is right near the subway tracks of the N and 7 and could be the loudest area in LIC. Unless this park is for the deaf, no one will spend more than one minute there. Once again bad urban planning for LIC.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the park, I totally agree on the noise factor. The park will be right under a curve, and it is lous as hell. For $28 Mil, they should figure out a way to enclose the trains and reduce the noise pollution.
ReplyDeleteAs for the poster who describes the area as skanky, you too have a point to an extent. However, what we are really talking about here is what to come, and that is alot less skanky for certain. The ugliest structure in the area is the Municipal parking lot. That will be torn down for a class A office building, thousands of new condo units are coming, a former hooker haven hotel is turning into an upscale boutique hotel The area is changing quickly, and if you can put up with the grime for a few years, I think you will see an entirely different landscape, and a more valuable landscape.
interesting comments on lic. wondering what your opinion is of arris lofts? a friend of mine bought there, slow going but he is finally in, any inside scoop? also, are there really only $1mm+ apts left there? do you have any to sell? also, wondering if what you think of the newer ones just starting to sell, the powerhouse and hunters point, good alternative to get in under $1mm, finally toll brothers, what is their reputation for quality? and timeliness? thanks.
ReplyDeleteArris Lofts is what it is. It's a little off the beaten path, but the area is on the uptrend. I'd have to research the current pricing. The finishes are nice and the space, ceiling heights, etc. are desirable.
ReplyDeleteAs for Toll Bros. at 5SL, so far I am very impressed. Seems like every condo deal I have done over the past year has been delayed on average by 3+ months. So far, 5SL seems to be one of the very few on target. I have a client who is expected to move in in December, and I have no reason to doubt it at this point, as progress is being made on schedule. Almost all of the windows are in, and I saw that all of the sheetrock appears to be up in the back building. So far, so good.
I like the Powerhouse. The finishes are great and amenities abundant. I would not buy for the views however, as the Queenswest sites fate is still undetermined. As for the Hunters Point and Hunters View, the main selling point is price. I don't think they are as fancy as powerhouse, and may be noise compromised, but they are the most affordable, and you are have decent fixins, balconies, doorman, etc.. So, it's in the eye of the beholder and a viable offer for people looking to get into LIC at the right price.
AF - What do think of the Queens Plaza Condominium? Totally different look from those being built around it, and is it worth the price or not?
ReplyDeleteThose condo looks cool. Wish I can visit there some other time. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete-pia-