If you remember the recent topping out of 23-10 Queens Plaza South as the second tallest building in Queens, hearing of another contender usurping its place so quickly might give you a sense of déjà vu. In a testament to Long Island City’s dizzying pace of development, the title passes to Tower 28, previously known as 28 on 28th.
When we last checked in on 267 Rogers Avenue in southern Crown Heights, the planned five-story rental building was barely more than a hole in the ground. Now walls are up, and the building has finally started to take shape.
While most ongoing projects in booming Long Island City involve ground-up construction, 5-33 48th Avenue, two blocks east of the East River, is a conversion of the type more commonly seen in the borough across that river. The renovation and expansion of a four-story manufacturing building into a seven-story residential property is well underway. The project will feature 36 units, as well as retail at the ground floor. Joseph A Sultana of JLS Designs Architecture is indicated as the general contractor on the project’s work permit.
The New York City landmarks law was signed 50 years ago this year. So, what better time to talk about some of its successes? Plenty of great structures, such as the Empire State Building, completed in 1931 as a multi-tenant office building, are easy to keep relevant and functioning. Others, however, become obsolete and can no longer perform their originally intended purpose. That’s where adaptive reuse comes in. If you haven’t heard the term, it’s when an old structure is adapted for a new use. It’s often how we are saving our great city.
Over the past month, the 19-story Aloft Hotel at 27-45 Jackson Avenue reached its full height. The building was designed by Gene Kaufman, who is best known for designing budget hotels of the type that seen here. While most of them stand in Manhattan and easily get lost in the skyscraper thickets, the new tower in central Long Island City is now the tallest all-hotel building in Queens.