Rendering by Newman Design Architects via YIMBY
March 14, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
A developer is building townhouses in Long Island City with units large enough for families.
Developer GDC Properties is in the process of building a 76-unit complex that consists of 38 four-story town houses with two duplexes in each.
The development will take up half a block between 45th Road, 11th Street, 46th Avenue, and 21st Street at 35-45 11th Street, YIMBY first reported.
The development is slated to be completed by the end of the year, and each duplex will range between 1,900 to 2,300 square feet with two or three bedrooms and will rent for around $7,000 per month.
Lower duplexes will have the first two floors of the house, as well as a finished basement and private backyards. Upper duplexes will have the top two floors, as well as an upper penthouse level with a wet bar and refrigerator, and a private roof deck with an AstroTurf lawn, YIMBY reported.
The development will also have an interior courtyard and lawn that will be shared by all occupants.
“Our approach is to appeal to a pretty targeted niche of young families who want to take advantage of easy access to employment centers in Manhattan and Brooklyn,” GDC co-chairman Adam Ginsburg told YIMBY. “People who have a couple of kids and need three bedrooms have few options, especially if they’re renters, within reasonable striking distance of Manhattan.”
The developer bought the 50,000 square foot property for $37 million in 2014 and began construction last fall.
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42 Comments
Astoria mom=In mine and some others opinions I have read, NYC is not going to be livable for middle class and poor in a few years. It will truly be a city for the well of and rich only. Quality of life sucks with overcrowded sidewalks, transit and traffic. In LIC and most of NYC planning hoes by he wayside for Greedy Real Estate Developers. King Bloomberg’s rezoning along with the current rezoning DumBlasio wants will ruin the rest of LIC. Affordable housing is a pipe dream as all we see are High End APTs/Condos and High End Stores .Jimmy No Brainer and Carolyn Baloney as Frank calls her are in he pockets of these developers. Vote the Mayor/Governor City Council and all the other crooked terrible politicians out (mostly Democrats) and maybe change can be affected. There are not many honest politicians around, but in NYC we have had a rash of indictments in Albany and locally in the 5 boros.
Am reading these posts & share some of the concerns expressed.I railed about this to a good friend recently who asked: who can blame /judge a small ,possibly struggling homeowner who is approached& offered enormous sums for their modest abode? Don’t know the answer..just hope to stay in NY..
Robert P –I couldn’t have said it any better. Short and sweet and to the point. The way things are going in LIC and the rest of NYC struggling will come before each sentence people write. A City for the Elite/Rich/Well Off/ only is about a few years away at he current pace. King Bloomberg is going to get his vision of a city/playground for the RICH. Where will the nannies, dog walkers, doormen, valets, hotel maids, etc.etc.. live?????
All I have to say is time to leave NYC.
FYI Foreign does not mean Non-White. There is no racism picture here. Foreign could be green to me. I am no racist. If these keep developing the way they are, the very people higher as you say on the socio-economic scale will struggle even more. As for me being all over he place as you said, there are many aspects of what I talk about. Topics are not limited. To paint the Broad Brush economically I would say, watch out what happens if that rezoning goes through. Do I know every trust fund baby ? NO. They are here and the people who have been pushed out may have been pushed out by DEVELOPERS or he people who wish to pay exhorbitant amounts for their apts/condos. I recently read Developers want people to buy more condos to invest in the area and rent less to keep LIC less of a transient area. Maybe this will help you understand my points.
Mister Charlie you are not understanding me. Foreign Money the real estate woman talked about with their cash on hand, does not mean TFBabies in general. Some may be but I would think most of these are not TFB’s. The buildings you mention are just a part of the greater whole and rampant Overdevelopment that I and many oppose and will always oppose. Bad for the area, bad for everybody. Overcrowding like Manhattan is not far off , though we are overcrowded already. The powers that be don’t recognize the people you talk about, just money is what they worship. GREEDY DEVELOPERS with Queens and many other Politicians/community boards in their pockets.
I’m confused. Is it Trust Fund Babies from white elite who are living here or now it’s a lot of FOREIGN money coming into LIC? Or are they Foreign Trust Fund Babies?
I can look around. The solid majority of buildings going up are rentals, not condos. Are some of the TFBabies renting too instead of investing? Doesn’t sound very TFBaby like.
To be clear, the FOREIGN TFBabies are not pushing out the people I’m talking about. The people I’m talking about are the majority of people that live in the TFC, Avalon and Rockrose buildings – hard working young professionals who work for what they have; people you nonetheless have a general derision for because they are not older and/or not lower on the socio-economic ladder. Your inability to make a distinction is troubling. While you’re tone and general sentiment is consistent but dig down into the minutiae and you’re all over the place.
Look around you MisterCharlie, Center Blvd is not the only area of LIC that has big buildings. Look down Jackson Ave. there are many new BIG APT/Condo buildings. Go to the Court Sq. Diner. and see all the Hipster/Yuppies in there after a PS 1 event. If you read a few posts on this site (from real estate people) they will tell you that FOREIGN money is coming into LIC and the other parts of Queens and NYC. Many pay cash for these Luxury apts/condos. Pushing out the people you are talking about and the older residents. Raising prices for everyone from soda to Rents. Why can’t we get a good Food store such as Shop Rite or Stop and Shop? We get the FOOD Cellar and other YUPPIE Stores geared to them. This is becoming an ELITE area or will be in the near future especially if hey get their Rezoning they want. JVB will give it to them with the Community Board also.
So sensitive MRLIC. I happen to agree with you on more issues than you may think, but you take one comment about the tremendous generalizations that you make about all of the young people living in LIC and turn it into a diatribe about everything else. Sure there are a lot of “young professionals”, and if you want to criticize them fine, but criticize them knowing most of them are hard working people that are not “TFBabies” and work hard to get what they have.
And if all of the TFbabies aren’t living on Center Blvd. then where are they?
Continued–Mister Charlie 5 years living here, you did not see the Gentrification I saw and witnessed. Maybe I get repetitive but so do the articles. All you read are Develop, Develop, Develop, housing that is not affordable, no transit help, no stores, no real thinking or planning. What I say is TRUTH, real life not the BS the politicians want you to believe.Did you agree on Jimmy Van Bramer wasting $550,000 on a statue no one wanted or even knew about and as highly criticized. Why is every store or restaurant “High End” and overpriced that come here? Answer–Young Professionals they always gear their business/prices to. That is who can afford these prices and why “Families” struggle here and eventually move their families out. Read what people post on these site and others and you will see I know what I am talking about. People who were middle class in LIC are now considered poor , those who are still here and were not forced out by high rents or did not like what was going on here. On TV news a few weeks ago a woman in Manhattan was talking about rents and affordable housing, she said only Wealthy people or Trust Fund babies (she said she knew a few of these TFBabies) could afford the prices they were asking for rents. You may not know these TFbabies but they are there somewhere in LIC. Paint yourself a broader brush other than the 2 buildings you have lived in. I will continue to criticize injustice when I read it and if it sounds repetitive to you, just don’t read it. Some newcomers to LICPOSt may not have heard about it yet.
Mister Charlie–You are right when you say a neighborhood set up for Yuppies and Hipsters and Trust Fund Babies is not the way to go.I have lived here all my life and see he change for exactly what it is and I see. Yes there are hard working families here. Maybe there are more Trust Funders in Manhattan, what do you think they are trying to do to LIC. It will be an extension of Manhattan if they get to rezone it some more. The next rezoning up for debate i 25 blocks from Queens Plaza to Court Square and 25 block on the other side of Queens Plaza to a certain area. 64 Hotels is overkill, all thee GIGANTIC Buildings. LIC infrastructure can’t handle it. Trains are at capacity now. The STUPID BQX Trolley won’t work, read about what people are saying even on thi site about it who know, not the politicians.
“A neighborhood set up for Young Yuppie/Hipsters whether professional or Trust Fund Babies of which many are,to kick long time residents to the curb is not truly the way to go.”
MRLIC – where do you get this information from? I’ve been living in LIC for over 5 years and have lived in 2 buildings, including The View, and have more than 1 child in day care (i.e., I know a lot of parents). None of the people I know are “Trust Fund Babies”. Quite the contrary. Almost all of the parents I know are hard working people that span the job spectrum and come from the greater NY area or outside of NY. Most of them are working to make ends meet in a very expensive City (i.e., NYC in general). Such a broad brush painting is wholly inaccurate and, if that is your mindset, misses the point about who is living here and why they are living here. “Trust Fund Babies” live in Manhattan, not Queens. Any sort of validity or value to what you are saying is drowned out by your constant characterizations (and repetitive comments; which are always the same regardless of the article subject matter). Given your comments, I’m not sure when you would be speaking so in-depth with all of these Yuppies/Hipsters to get into their personal lives and family backgrounds.
To Mister Charlie & Mr. Facts. JVB is responsible somewhat for what comes into this LIC neighborhood. He protests Trump and incites unnecessary fears among Immigrant and LGBT groups. Horse poop was mentioned in the good ole” days. Now we have Dog poop in the present day on our sidewalks. More people means more dogs and more poop people don’t clean up. $7,000 rents rive everyone’s rents up. GREEDY DEVELOPERS in line with JVB,DumBlasio and Governor (Corruption) Cuomo all have a hand in why there is no REAL affordable housing.
Also, Mister Charlie. Never mind Horse Poop from the good old days. Dog poop from the current day is rising. sure no one wants Prostitution and crime around but affordability is the issue. A neighborhood set up for Young Yuppie/Hipsters whether professional or Trust Fund Babies of which many are,to kick long time residents to the curb is not truly the way to go, The neighborhood has no stores and is already overcrowded. Even rich people don’t like that. Many will move and LIC will be the same transient place it has become. hanks JVB,Bill DumBlsio and Governor( Corruption )Cuomo.
Mr. Facts and Mister Charlie. You mention a fool wants to part with 7k a month. Fool was he right word. High rents bring everyone’s rents up eventually. GREEDY DEVELOPERS will suck every dime out of buyers/renters and then when they have their money let the place fall to a lower standard. Jimmy Van Bramer can stop some of the Over development in LIC but does not. He is probably in someone’s pocket. He incites immigrants both legal and illegal along with LGBT’s fears against Trump needlessly but does nothing about REAL affordable housing, WHY? He WASTED And I mean Wasted half a million $$$$ on a Pepto Bismol Pink statue that the community hates. He can fight some of these homeless shelters, but does not, Why? Many of these high end apts will go empty, I see future homeless shelters especially if DumBlasio wins again. Another lousy CORRUPT NYC Politician. NYC can’t afford itself.
“Once a dangerous, filthy, seedy area of porn theaters, crime, and prostitution, now its NYCs Disneyland.”
Sounds terrible. If only everywhere could remain the way it was. Maybe back to the good ol’ days of horse drawn carriages. Don’t forget about the smell of horse shit everywhere.
$7,000 a month is a lot, especially without parking, but given the space, and if the economy continues as is, these will rent. Smaller 3BRs around Center are renting the mid/high $5,000s/low $6,000s, and that’s without all the private space.
How much are all of the other units and condos around Murray Park renting for? Are these completely off on a per square foot basis?
Affordable housing is a farce. It is not run by the city at all. The landlord/property owners picks a management company to review/submit all paperwork conduct interviews etc. There is no oversight of any kind. The city just stamps the paperwork that is there only role in the whole affordable housing scam. If a property has 200 units maybe only 50 are truly affordable the others and considered affordable but still closer to market rate. If you are selected you must accept the unit immediately or they move to the next applicant. just look at Steinway Estates. The 20 or so affordable unit went no problem but they cant rent the other ones. I turned down a 1 bedroom. Tiny units and poor construction and the rent was more then what I’m paying now and there is no transportation around there.
Anonymous who wrote the gentrification story, you are also 100% correct. Gentrification started with Giuliani, hit it’s peak with KING BLOOMBERG who really rezoned and ruined this city of 5 boroughs. DeBlasio is actually continuing Bloomberg’s work in a less vocal and newsworthy way. 421-a tax breaks (Cuomo too is involved) not helping the homeless etc….All are/were in with the Real Estate Industry and Developers, don’t kid yourself. NYC is fast becoming a city for the rich only. Jimmy Van Bramer is helping also to make it that way.
Thanks to Democrats (Clinton’s) NAFTA agreement, millions of jobs were lost in NYC, to include the Swingline plant in LIC that went to Mexico. There’s a master plan at work here. Cuts to Section 8 / housing project funding, while saturating these lower income areas with hotels and expensive apartment units geared towards young affluent professionals. It’s NOT for the local lower income population. The end goal is to eventually have a population group of younger higher income folks infest and spread in the area. Then the stores come in geared towards that customer base with high priced items. The “indigenous” population, though not forced to leave, eventually have no place in the region as everything to include local establishments are high priced and geared for everyone else but them. Eventually they move out and an entire population group of NYC changes (think what happened in Brooklyn). The remainder who are unable to move out for the new breed of folks replacing them: that’s where the new homeless shelters being built come in. If you’re old enough, think of the transformation in Times Square. Once a dangerous, filthy, seedy area of porn theaters, crime, and prostitution, now its NYCs Disneyland. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what’s known as gentrification. Now you know…the rest of the story.
Yeah brother! You see, we grew up in Queensbridge Projects, and I use to hang out in that area. Just follow the money. I’m sure DeBlasio and his people are getting their kickback$$$. The people were dumb enough to elect him as mayor, and foolish enough to pay that kind of money for an apartment called condo with no private yard, but a shared area. And tell me, what amenities will this high priced “mini project(s)” have that will rate spending $8000 per month. After the developers and their lawyers get richer, the place will get run down AND the vagrants will move in. Maybe the high priced ho’s instead of the streetwalker of past, will rent. PEOPLE ARE STUPID!
Disgusting. Anyone who says the city is building affordable housing should just stop talking. You are either a fool or a liar.
$84,000 a year to rent, hell you could take a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for the $1.3 million dollars it would take to buy a 2 bed in LIC. You would have a mortgage payment of $5,079 per month, with tax deductible interest of $3,600 a month. So the unit effective costs you $1,479 a month.
Not exactly the way the math works Sean. First you would need 260k down payment plus another 50k in closing cost just to get started. So about 300k in cash sitting around. Also the $3,600 a month interest deduction does not come off the monthly mortgage amount. Basically it equals $6000 total in tax returns at the end of the year. So about $500 a month. You are also forgetting about insurance, real estate tax and common charges which are likely close to $1000 a month.
So carrying cost for a 1.3 million dollar apartment are close to 7k a month if you have $300,000 sitting around for a a down payment and closing costs
I need a good accountant.
Bravo! Math and facts are not a friend of many of the commenters on this site. They will also oddly blame that and Math on Van Bramer most likely too for some odd reason. Snow! Damn you JVB! I got a ticket for parking at a hydrant! Damn you JVB! If a fool wants to part with $7k/mth, why are so many people angry about what other people do? How is JVB responsible for the homeless shelters and affordable housing? People need a civics lesson about how NYC works.
I am not sure people are angry. I think people are surprised and upset. Totally different. Many of us have good jobs but still can’t afford to buy. It is sad to be forced to leave a place you like because apparently, rich people grow on trees in NYC. Apparently, you can build 40 stories of overpriced apartments and rent them all or build 2 million dollar apartments and have all cash buyers outbidding each other. It takes a while to come to grips with the fact that it is really time to leave the Northeast. The sooner the better.
unfortunately in LIC far too many condos are being sold to cash rich buyers, not your local home seekers.
They should give priority to those in the neighborhood and city residents before taking cash from foreign buyers. It isn’t fair that people get priced out of their own neighborhood due to greed, but that’s where we are now
If you have this kind of money and you are renting, you are a fool. My studio sold for a large profit after just 4 years. $84,000 a year to rent? In Queens? Unfortunately we have a lot of fools with a lot of money. Will be interesting to see if they can rent them.
DIane Linehan I agree with you 100% about the homeless shelters. LIC is slated for 61 hotels when all is said and done.To LIC you are right for that kind of money they should have a garage and a pool and workout area on premises.
Too bad they don’t have garages.
stupid oversight when you’re charging $7000 a month for a rental.
who doesn’t include a garage…..they should have just sold them as condos and been done with it.
Everything is being bought by investors anyways. the whole area is seeing a very unfortunate shift in it’s residents and becoming transient.
They’re destroying the character of LIC
We need affordable housing and they think that they will get those prices in the middle of the projects. And what schools are these kids going to? Never mind when they find out that there aren’t any good hospitals around. Why are there hotels hoping up all around this area. There are going to be homeless shelters soon enough. Just like you screwed Woodside with. Stop squeezing the manufactures out of the area. We need jobs
Rich kids go to private schools.
Jimmy Van Bramer has screwed LIC Sunnyside and Woodside with homeless shelters more are being put up –
his pockets are being lined very well believe you me –
These are surely affordable Mr. DeBlasio and Mr. Van Bramer. (LOL). Why can’t we have affordable Housing in LIC/NYC. This is another reason why.
don’t worry when they can’t rent them DeBlasion and Jimmy Van Bramer will be putting the homeless in there just wait and see –
I guess they would be better off utilized then unutilized…
I agree with you and then mr Wall Street person will go bananas
$7k a month….for an apartment….in queens, wow. What’s crazier then them asking for it is that there are those that will pay it.
i would pay for it , it is a good deal
Get the F%¥k outta here!