Last month, the New York City Housing Authority began work on $88 million worth of repairs and renovations at Astoria Houses, which were slammed by Hurricane Sandy three years ago. Now the agency has filed plans for a new 14-story apartment building at the development on Hallets Point, along the western Queens waterfront.
The stretch of western Astoria that runs next to Hallets Point and south of Astoria Park hasn’t seen much new residential construction, but the development tide has begun to turn in the solidly middle-class neighborhood. A six-story building is coming to 8-29 Astoria Boulevard, mid-block between 8th and 12th streets.
The Durst Organization has just stopped construction on its sprawling megaproject on Hallets Point in Astoria, saying the taxes are “crushing” without the 421-a tax exemption. But developers are still rushing to build along the waterfront in the western Queens neighborhood. Developer Wayne Fried has filed applications for a seven-story, mixed-use building at 30-07 Vernon Boulevard, right next to Hallets Point and the East River.
Two big developments, Hallets Point and Astoria Cove, are in the works on Astoria’s waterfront, but smaller developers have begun arriving on the neighborhood’s northern edge. The latest addition is an eight-story mixed-use project planned for 21-07 Astoria Boulevard.
While two megaprojects, Astoria Cove and Hallets Point, inch toward reality in western Astoria, smaller developers have begun to eye the little peninsula that juts out into the East River, just south of Astoria Park. One such builder, Dr. Baldhevai Patel, hopes to build a six-story mixed-use development at 23-36 4th Street, between 26th and 27th Avenues.