$2 Billion Flushing Waterfront District Development Gets Green Light

A watercolor rendering of the Flushing waterfront development by Jeff Stikeman Architectural Art.

Last week, the New York City Council approved a Flushing waterfront development set to cost $2 billion. The massive mixed-use project, which includes housing, commercial retail and office space, and hotel lodging, is being developed by a joint partnership between United Construction & Development Group, F&T Group, and Young Nian Group. The master plan, designed by Hill West Architects, will develop 29 acres of land bound by Flushing Creek, Northern Boulevard, College Point Boulevard, and Roosevelt Avenue, as well as upgrade the neighborhood’s public waterfront access.

As reported by Bisnow, the approval comes at the hands of the Committee on Land Use and the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, which green-lighted the project on the condition of an agreement with the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council. The proposal also faced backlash from council members due to the minimal addition of affordable housing, approximately 90 units out of a total 1,725 housing units.

In an interview with YIMBY, John Liang of Young Nian Group said the plan is to knit together Downtown Flushing and the Flushing Creek waterfront, positioning Flushing as a destination and creating numerous jobs. The office and community facilities comprise approximately 400,000 square feet, as well as 287,000 square feet of retail space and 687,250 square feet of hotel space.

Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail

Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews

.

18 Comments on "$2 Billion Flushing Waterfront District Development Gets Green Light"

  1. I think this is quite a cool project. I’m interested to see how this turns out.

  2. David in Bushwick | December 13, 2020 at 9:49 am | Reply

    Just 90 “affordable” housing units out of 1,725 total.
    The hypocrisy of the privileged who are served daily by those who aren’t privileged shamelessly knows no bounds.

    • Disgusted bystander | December 14, 2020 at 6:15 am | Reply

      A destination.. With no infrastructure to accommodate. The sidewalks are congested. The subway is a sardine can. The sewerage system won’t/can’t possibly accommodate all the paper and glass buildings being thrown up by developer’s who clearly have more interest in profit over quality of life, or the development of an area.
      Queens and Brooklyn always for sale to the highest bagman.

  3. 687,000 square feet of hotel space is insane. I was also hoping that on a humongous 29 acre lot that they’d be able to build more than 1,725 units.

  4. I’m interested I’m looking for one bedroom apartment

  5. Nice! If this is right off the van wyck then I think I know where it is. Any kind of waterfront dev is good

  6. Doubtless an earnest plan for addressing an undeniable blot on the landscape but the proposed development will create thousands of square feet of additional stormwater runoff which will end up, directly or indirectly, into Flushing River. This water course is already so seriously overburdened such that periods of heavy rainfall result in raw sewage overflows into the river; it frequently becomes a virtual open sewer. While the present waterfront eyesore needs to be actioned at the earliest, surely the developers would first want to be assured that the drainage problems will be corrected prior to any use / occupation of the development.

    • Steven Goodstein | December 13, 2020 at 1:21 pm | Reply

      There is no question that Flushing creek needs to be cleaned up. It has been terribly abused for well over a century. I am afraid that a massive $2 Billion investment (plus cost overruns) is the only way for this to happen. But don’t think for a minute that Flushing isn’t trading one set of problems for an entirely new set! Let’s hope that there is some improvement in the local landscape and the terrible chemical muck in the creek (along with it’s small) is eradicated. I just hope that the urban planners working on this project know what tgey are doing to this densely populated area.

    • “surely the developers would first want to be assured that the drainage problems will be corrected prior to any use / occupation of the development.”

      Lol! It’s Chinatown, Jake. They don’t care. This development is the future of all of NYC looking right at you. NYC will be a Chinese run city in 20 years.

  7. This is unbelievable
    90 afforable apartment what does that do for less fortunate
    Why not 700 Affordable apartments
    No no
    Let’s keep them in their place
    At the bottom
    Shack on the plantation
    Everyone is si full of
    Sugar honey ice tea

  8. This is very good news, real progress. Thank Goodness a miracle happened and the City Council did a smart thing for a change. For the misinformed, without the rezoning much of the same sized buildings could have been built anyway but with ZERO affordable housing. Its a sorry fact that too many New Yorkers who never ran a private business and had to make a payroll, never built a even a treehouse no less an apartment building, and couldnt tell you the difference between a T Square and Times Square, nevertheless would blithely demand that other people they perceive as “wealthy developers” should give their buildings away despite the huge financial risks they take and frequent fortunes that they lose. Jealous, clutching, and entitled.

  9. Now is the time for all these large projects that doesn’t benefit the communities to get approved. The city/state needs tax revenues so we will see more of these projects get approved.

  10. A disgruntled citizen | December 14, 2020 at 1:08 am | Reply

    I’m not asking handouts. I refuse to believe that despite working full time as an essential worker the only housing I can afford is in the city shelter system. Shame on you for mocking me when the developers are the ones getting the handouts in terms of zoning restructuring andveminent domain.

  11. A unimpressed citizen | December 14, 2020 at 1:14 am | Reply

    I only hope that there development does improve the water quality and the drainage issues. From what is visible in Bryant park if a public park is so engulfed by skyscrapers that the windows can’t be opened for fres sir 9 p.m. bc of the constant noise, the view doesnt matter. Forget about affordable. Why are luxury apartments the majority of those being built with public grants? The city is emptying out already.

  12. Planes already fly way too low on approach to laguardia airport and now they want to build more high rises on the approach path to LaGuardia, hilarious. There is like 300 feet between the top of the existing building on the render on the right to the airplanes that land there

  13. Unacceptable to have so few affordable apartments, but hopefully that cane rectified in an otherwise good proposal.

  14. Imelda pebenito | February 3, 2021 at 5:23 pm | Reply

    I want an application for a one or two bedrooms please thank you.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*