Rego Park has one of the strongest rental markets in central and eastern Queens, and developers are finally starting to take notice. Last week, YIMBY spotted plans for a 12-story, mixed-use building at 63-98 Wetherole Street, a couple blocks south of Queens Boulevard.
Last fall, Alfa Development shelled out $69.6 million for four buildings at the corner of East 21st Street and Third Avenue in Gramercy. Now they’ve filed plans for a 20-story residential building at 200 East 21st Street.
Back in July of 2014, YIMBY reported on plans for a seven-story, 48-unit mixed-use building at 500 Waverly Avenue, in southern Clinton Hill, located right across from the Clinton-Washington Avenues stop on the C train. Now, Curbed NY has official renderings of the project, dubbed Waverly Brooklyn and now addressed as 500 Waverly Avenue, which recently topped out at 78 feet above street level. The new 62,719-square-foot building will include 7,128 square feet of ground-floor retail space and its condominium units should average 975 square feet apiece. Unit configurations will range from studios to four-bedrooms, and amenities include 24 car parking spaces in the cellar, bicycle storage, private storage space, a gym on the second floor, and a rooftop terrace. Orange Management is the developer and Gerner, Kronick & Valcarcel (GKV Architects) is behind the design. Completion is expected later this year.
Back in the summer of 2014, YIMBY revealed renderings of the 10-story, 103-unit all-affordable residential building at 300 Quarropas Street, located at the corner of South Lexington Avenue in White Plains. Westfair now reports construction has wrapped up on the 121,000-square-foot project, dubbed the Prelude. The White Plains Housing Authority and Jonathan Rose Companies are developing, and Dattner Architects is the design architect. The new building was built on the site of the five-building, 450-unit Brookfield Commons housing complex and also serves as the new home of the White Plains Education and Training Center. The community center measure 13,500 square feet and is open to all residents in Brookfield Commons. Sometime in the future, the city is expected to replace more of the tower-in-the-park buildings with mixed-use, all-affordable residential ones.
The story of development at 27-17 42nd Road is a testament to the ongoing rapid change within Long Island City’s landscape. When Star Tower was first proposed in 2008, it would have lived up to its name by shining on the Court Square skyline as its tallest residential building, offering luxury unmatched by any competitor in the area. As foundation work is underway for its successor, the neighborhood is at a point where a 25-story tower becomes infill, obscured by taller neighbors from nearly all directions. The perimeter basement wall appears complete, and work is in progress on interior foundations. The Department of Buildings lists 184 condominium units spread across 221,266 square feet of floor space. Hiwin USA is listed as the owner of the property while Milestone Construction is the contractor. When the 258-foot-tall building opens its doors in 2017, it will barely make a dent on the skyline, yet it will successfully fulfill its urban role as a building that respects its neighbors while maintaining an independent identity.
