We are at the epicenter. $1 billion in development. Good-bye renters!

The past

Booming Borough

By far the most dramatic conversion of an industrial area to new residential and commercial uses is taking place in Long Island City, the Queens neighborhood closest to Midtown Manhattan. About $1 billion in new residential and commercial construction is under way there, and several more projects are in the planning stages.

"[Long Island City] has the largest transit infrastructure in Queens, or of anywhere in the city," Young said.

In Long Island City's Court Square and Queens Plaza sections - near transit hubs - companies like CitiGroup, MetLife, and the United Nations Federal Credit Union are building Manhattan-style office towers. Recent zoning changes have primed the area for a density similar to Midtown Manhattan.

Among buildings planned for the area are two 1.5-million-sq.-ft. towers on either side of Jackson Avenue. A joint venture of New York-based Tishman Speyer and Med-Mac Properties is seeking an anchor tenant to start the first project.

In addition, Silvercup Studios, a television and movie production facility that has a longtime Long Island City presence, is planning an expansion on a vacant six-acre waterfront lot next to the Queensborough Bridge. The development would mix new film studios with a retail center and residential towers, creating what designers hope will be a "24-7 neighborhood."

"What's remarkable is the amount of residential interest in Long Island City," Young added.

Also in that vein, Rockrose Development of New York is investing more than $1 billion into Queens West, a Long Island City site where it plans to build seven residential high rises, a school, and a waterfront park. A former industrial site along the East River controlled by the city, Queens West overall entails four phases and plans for $2.3 billion in residential and commercial development.

For the city, the greatest challenge in Queens is supporting growth areas with infrastructure. In Long Island City, the city will begin $47 million in improvements in 2007 focused on streets, sidewalks, landscaping, and street lighting.

In Flushing, the city is making a similar infrastructure effort and is requiring developers that are building along the Flushing River, including Muss, to create a landscaped waterfront promenade.

The next big commercial growth area in Queens could be Jamaica, thanks to the recent completion of a terminal for the AirTrain, which links the subway system to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The city is developing a rezoning of the area for release later this spring, with early plans calling for increased office space and a new hotel to support businesses that benefit from access to the airport.

Jamaica's existing zoning has been in place since the 1960s, and the area has historically struggled with economic vitality. But it, too, may soon join the rest of a borough hitting its development stride.

"Queens is getting its due," said Jarosik, the Muss senior vice president. "It has a lot of amenities, and it's time is coming."