What pops into your head when you think of Long Island City? Well, whatever it may be, this Queen’s neighborhood is rapidly changing with the development of new buildings on both the residential and commercial side. Around 11,000 rental and condo units have shot up recently, with many more apartments and office spaces on the rise. With a plethora of sprouting skyscrapers that will definitely change the look of the Queen’s skyline, here are some of the drastic developments that will surely change the way you look up.
Toyoko Inn
After originally flirting with the idea in 2010, Japan’s Toyoko Inn has decided to go forward with the construction for an impressive hotel in Long Island City. The plans have been finalized to build a 50-story, 261,000 square foot hotel located on Jackson Avenue, which is a more popular street in Long Island City.
The Toyoko Inn is a common hotel chain in Japan, Korea, and Cambodia, with plans to develop in Germany and Philippines. However, this Queen’s location will be the first in the U.S. with no current plans to open in other areas.
Tishman Speyer
With the significant increase of residential development, there has been more demand for office and retail space in the neighborhood. Tishman Speyer and Qatari Diar have plans to develop a 1.1 million-square-foot office project in response to the demand. Therefore, this project will feature two 27-story office buildings and a 4-story retail building. Located at Queens Plaza South and Jackson Avenue, companies like WeWork and Macy’s are expected to become leaseholders.
Court Square City View Tower
Chris Jiashu Xu has refinanced his development site with a $100 million loan from the Bank of China, where he plans to build a 79-story tower, but the plans are yet to be approved. The original plan was to feature 660 apartments, along with 100,000 square feet to be used as commercial space. The developer has then decided to build 774 apartments and 19,721 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Projected to be finished around fall of 2019, the tower will be located at 23-15 44th Drive and will include 225 parking spots.
Overall, Long Island City has become a highly sought after neighborhood, due to its affordability (when compared to other NYC neighborhoods) and its accessibility to Manhattan. In New York City, when there’s a residential-desired neighborhood, the building of new developments will quickly follow. Multiple development firms are getting their hands on a piece of LIC with future plans for residential and commercial spaces. Expect the Queen’s skyline to grow, not quite to the degree of Manhattan just yet but soon enough.
