A consortium of developers including Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silverstein Properties, and BedRock Real Estate Partners has revealed extensive plans to redevelop and construct a five-block mixed-use complex in Astoria, Queens. Designed by ODA’s New York design studio, the development is known as Innovation QNS and is expected to yield up to 2,700 apartments and more than 400,000 square feet of commercial area.
Innovation QNS Site Plan – ODA New York
The project will break ground in an area known as the Kaufman Arts District near the neighborhood’s southern boundary, which is currently filled with low-rise industrial buildings, parking lots, and underutilized parcels of land. When complete, the project is poised to reinvigorate the area between Northern Boulevard and 37th Street.
Planned components include two acres of publicly accessible outdoor area; up to 200,000 square feet of buildable commercial area including retail, restaurants, and a movie theatre; health and wellness facilities including doctor’s offices and clinics; and 250,000 square feet of additional commercial space reserved for small businesses, startups, and nonprofits in the creative industries to be leased below market-rate values.
The residential component is expected to include up to 2,700 mixed-income apartments and approximately 700 permanently affordable apartments with a portion reserved for seniors.
Rendering of pedestrian plaza and super market at Innovation QNS – ODA New York
Arts and entertainment components within Innovation QNS – ODA New York
Street View of Innovation QNS at 35th Ave – ODA New York
With a focus on sustainability, the project team will also construct multiple green roofs, managed beehives, and photo-voltaic panels as a source of renewable energy.
While an official project timeline has not be released, Innovation QNS is expected to create 3,700 construction jobs and 1,700 permanent positions from groundbreaking through completion.
Following a two-year community engagement process, which included focus groups, workshops, and surveys, the plan is now ready to take the next step toward public review. A preliminary action statement will be filed with the Department of City Planning in July, with the full public review process slated to begin in late 2020 or early 2021.
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“Sustainable Development” because of some beehives and a few solar panels? All that cheap glass isn’t very sustainable. Greenwashing is so tired.
At least commit to having the project be all electric with no gas line connections. All electric is the sustainable future.
LOL, beehives!
Seven thousand condos, are unsold in Queens, just what the city needs 2 700 more condos, in Queens Add to the 3ooo thousand in the Hudson Yards. Some body better find some buyers, soon……
Find a third grader and have her explain to you the difference between condos and rentals. Also, you do realize this project probably has a 10-15 year timeline? A lot can happen between now and then, but there will almost certainly still be demand for affordable housing.
Housing is what the city needs.
Exactly, Adam!
Housing is the Number 1 Priority for the City by eradicating the Homeless like we seen in Helsinki Finland, Vienna Austria and Singapore, Housing is a Human Right NOT a Privilege.
No where does it mention 2700 condos. They are mixed income apartments. Anyway, how long until progressive city council members kill the plan because it doesn’t have enough housing for the homeless, people suffering from addiction, and the unemployed?
There is nothing wrong to built housing for the Homeless People, Unemployed and People suffering from addiction, etc. look at Helsinki, Finland how they miraculously eradicated the homelessness by building affordable social housing for the homeless, unemployed and addicted people.
I have nothing against Mixed-Income Apartments, it is better to built mixed-income apartments than a Reckless Condos, Also Better Affordable MSocial Housing that includes homeless, unemployed and addicted people than a reckless condos, NYC needs to learn from Helsinki how they eradicated Homelessness and from Vienna and Singapore on Affordable Public Social Housing.
Is this the same area that Amazon was considering?
No,this is a few miles east
They are priced far above market price, the condo market has been soft since the end of 2019
units are all on the block, discounted ,there is a small amount of buyers at the moment but there in the lux group 88 mil. for lower penthouse,1 west 57st private sale, now you know whos buying
You’re not thinking long term. This complex won’t be built out until the mid 2020’s at the earliest.
This is excellent. Always happy to see Astoria get new density.
Glazing past other comments… build baby build!!
Can’t developers do anything slightly more interesting architecturally?
This looks like the kind of pre-built “community” setting you see somewhere like in San Jose. All big corporate restaurants — think PF Changs and Magianno’s — not unique New York City type places. And big corporate retail. And given where it’s located it will feature roving bands of youths engaging in fun hijinks.
A disaster in the making, and an eyesore to boot.
This looks great! 3400 apartments will flood the market and rents will drop or at least stop growing so quickly.
Assuming each apartment fits 2.5 people, 3400 apartments = 8500 spots for tenants. That’s huge! Landlords will have to compete more for tenants. We just need to 10x this effort so we can create 85,000 new spots for tenants. The only way to fight landlords and rip-off rents is by making them compete for tenants as supply increases. Otherwise, we’re just paying all our incomes to these damn landlords.
For those worried about the rents being too high in these units: what is gonna happen is all the yuppies who live in Astoria already will move into these units, and the landlords who own the units they vacate will have to scramble to find tenants and probably have to charge less or not raise rents as they otherwise would have.