A site on Northern Boulevard in Long Island City that sold for $173.5 million will add to the thousands of units scheduled to be constructed in the neighborhood.
Located at 29-55 Northern Blvd., the site was purchased by the Durst Organization last year and the developers plan to build a 63-story rental tower with 786,833 square feet of residential space and 8,702 square feet for commercial space.
Previously, the Hakim Organization was planning a 70-story building at the site, but the organization ran into financial issues and decided to sell it. The Clock Tower, an 11-story building constructed in 1927, sits behind the building at 29-27 Queens Plaza North. It was landmarked in May 2015. Formerly the Bank of the Manhattan Company building, it was awarded first prize from the Queens Chamber of Commerce as the borough’s best business building.
According to LIC Partnership, the neighborhood development organization, there are about 9,000 new units slated to be constructed in 2017, making it the most number of units in a single year in Long Island City’s history. The total number of residential units built in Long Island City since 2006 will total more than 20,000 by the end of this year.
A new report also found that a record number of rental units were built in Long Island City from 2010 through 2016, eclipsing other large cities nationwide that also experienced a spike in development.
During that six-year time period, the neighborhood saw 12,533 new units and 41 new apartment buildings being constructed, according to RENTCafe. In comparison, the next neighborhood on the list was Downtown Los Angeles, with 7,551 new units constructed during the same time.
