MENU

Queens

Preparation Starts for 17-Story Extension of Pre-War Building at 24-16 Queens Plaza South, Long Island City

In formerly industrial Long Island City, most new developments start with a blank state. Some projects, such as the Dutch LIC, Factory House, and 42-14 Crescent Street pay homage to the district’s past via design cues. Other developments, such as 29-37 41st Avenue, 23-10 Queens Plaza South and 43-22 Queens Street, incorporate new towers alongside existing pre-war structures. The project at 24-16 Queens Plaza South takes preservation in a slightly different direction. There, Greystone Development reimagines the façade of the five-story, pre-war commercial building as the base for a new residential tower. The 22-story building at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge will be designed by the Midtown-based firm Woods Bagot. The ground level will be anchored by a 3,863-square-foot retail space, with 117 residential units to be stacked above. The existing property sat unused for some time, and construction scaffolds rose around its perimeter earlier this month.

Read More

Topping-Out Imminent at 44-26 Purves Street, Long Island City

The title of the city’s construction hotspot of the summer may go to the Long Island City block bound by 44th Drive, Jackson and Thomson avenues, and Purves Street. As recently as four years ago, only warehouses, auto shops and a handful of rowhomes graced the 1.8-acre trapezoid. In 2014, the 14-story 26-14 Jackson Avenue rose as a herald of greater things to come. The 27-story Harrison at 27-21 44th Drive topped out in June of this year, and the 27-story Watermark Court Square at 27-19 44th Drive, next door, caught up almost exactly two months later. But as those two towers still sport their ceremonial topping-out flags, they are about to be overtaken by 44-26 Purves Street. The project, developed by Brause Realty and the Gotham Organization, is rapidly approaching its final, 33-story height. Once the FXFOWLE-designed, 270-unit luxury rental reaches its topmost point, it will stand just under the 400-foot mark, becoming the sixth-tallest building on the flourishing Court Square skyline.

Read More


A Closer Look at the Recently Topped-Out Watermark Court Square, 27-19 44th Drive, Long Island City

At the start of the month YIMBY announced the topping out of Watermark Court Square, at 27-19 44th Drive. The 168-unit rental building had added around 17 floors since the end of May. Building permits place the height at 282 feet, although it is not certain whether the figure includes its mechanical bulkhead. In either case, the 27-story tower now stands among the dozen-tallest buildings in the Court Square district, eight of which topped out less than a year ago.

Read More

Completion Near for Aloft Long Island City at 27-45 Jackson Avenue, Future Tallest Hotel in Queens

Construction is wrapping up on the Aloft Hotel at 27-45 Jackson Avenue, in Long Island City’s Court Square district. According to Starwood Hotels, the 176-room property, officially called the “Aloft Long Island City – Manhattan View,” is set to open on October 27. At that point, the 18-story, 186-foot-tall high-rise should become the tallest all-hotel building in Queens. Though the 31-story slab of the nearby 29-11 Queens Plaza North, which opened its doors just recently, stands a good deal taller, the Marriott Courtyard within occupies only the tower’s lower half, with the residences at Aurora LIC sitting above. By YIMBY’s count, Aloft Hotel’s lofty pinnacle rises higher than that of any other hotel in the borough.

Read More

Fetching more...