Rendering for parcels F and G of the Hunters Point South development site (Hansel Architects)
June 21, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
More details have emerged on the two towers set to be built on the southern tip of the Long Island City waterfront as part of the city’s Hunters Point South development.
The city, which announced Gotham and Riseboro as the developer and non-profit selected to build out the two towers several months ago, presented the plan with further details to Community Board 2’s Land Use meeting last night.
The tower on what the city refers to as parcel F, the block of land between 56 and 57th Avenues on Center Boulevard, will rise 55 stories. The other building on parcel G, between 2nd Street and Newtown Creek, will rise to about 32 stories.
Construction is expected to begin on both towers some time in the summer of 2019, with both scheduled to be completed in 2022. The 32-story building, however, will be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
The specific number of units in each building was not disclosed, but the two towers will have approximately 1,120 units combined, as announced back in November. In addition, 93 apartments will be reserved for seniors.
All of the apartments for seniors will be at the base of the 55 story building, a decision made by Riseboro, which is in charge of senior housing in the project site.
Of the 1,120 units, 80 percent, or 900 apartments, will be affordable under multiple Area Median Income tiers ranging from 30 percent AMI to 145 percent AMI.
About 225 units, or 25 percent of all affordable units, will be reserved for low-income households earning between 30 percent to 60 percent of the AMI. An AMI of 30 percent for a family of three, for example, translates to a combined income of $28,170. At 60 percent AMI for the same family size, a combined income of no more than $56,340 would be needed to qualify.
The next AMI range is for families earning between 61 percent and 100 percent of the AMI. Around 270 units, of 30 percent of the affordable units, will be reserved for people in these income ranges. Under these guidelines, a family of two, for example, would need to earn less than $82,500 to qualify for a unit.
A “middle income” range between 101 percent and 145 percent of the AMI is also available, with 405 units, or 45 percent of them, falling under this category—the most of any AMI tier. A family of three earning $122,070, or 130 percent of the AMI, would qualify for an apartment under this category.
“The variety of income bands really allows us to get an inclusive and diverse community in this portion of Hunters Point South,” said Tristan Nadal, vice president of Gotham Development.
Gotham, the master planner of the two towers, is still working on determining the breakdown of unit sizes, but said they are aiming to have 25 percent of the units be studios, 35 percent be one-bedroom, 20 percent be two-bedroom, and 10 percent be for three-bedrooms.
Photo of a rendering showing one of the towers at street level.
The development will include about 40,000 square feet of retail and community space between the two towers. About 30,000 square feet is reserved for community space, with the remaining 11,000 square feet for retail.
The 55-story tower, for example, will hold roughly 20,000 square feet of community facility space at the ground floor and on the third floor. Bryan Kelly, executive vice president of Gotham, said they are leaning toward a healthcare of educational use to occupy the community facility space here.
Kelly also envisions a grocer or pharmacy combination at ground level near 56th Avenue, along with a cafe and several shops selling things like ice cream, bicycles, or other park-related items along Center Boulevard.
The 55-story tower could also be the site of a public rooftop garden, with a dedicated elevator for the public to access it.
Plans for parcels F and G.
Over at the site that will contain the 32-story tower, a kayak launch and boathouse are already underway, along with a public restroom and an arts and culture space spanning about 3,500 square feet. Gotham said they’ve been in talks with the Flux Factory so far, and are seeking to speak to a variety of local artist groups about using the space.
“It’s an interesting site because it’s kind of creating a new community within a larger neighborhood that is already established,” Kelly said of the two parcels.
Jaclyn Sachs, a senior planner at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said the project is still in its early stages, and will take up until the following year to nail down.
She added that the elementary school on parcel F, which takes up over half of the block where the 55-story building will be, will begin construction this summer, and is likely to be completed in 2021. The school, which will have a ground level playground, largely dictated the larger height of the 55-story tower on the same block, given the space it occupies.
The land use committee was generally in favor of the plan, but urged the developers and the city to implement environmental resiliency measures beyond what is required by code. They also asked for the developers to work with the board to promote the affordable housing units to Community board 2 residents once the lottery opens, as 50 percent of the units will go to area residents.
The Hunters Point South development includes eight buildings, of which only two have been built so far. Four towers, including the two on parcel F and G, are in planning stages, with developers yet to be selected for towers on two remaining blocks.
Layout of Hunters Point South (EDC)
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17 Comments
I am not opposed to the height of the building or the density of the neighborhood but I do think it would be nice of they would force one of these developers who are getting extremely rich to design a beautiful building. A centerpiece for LIC. The most recognized landmark. And while they are at it they spend some money beautifying Vernon. That street is butt ugly. Brick sidewalks, benches and some nice lighting would be huge.
And the targeted 30% of income for rent is based on gross income. After taxes and all other deductions, take-home pay can be 55-60% of gross. So rent ends up taking 50% or more from take-home pay. If your income drops, rent does not, so you can end up paying a lot more. That’s that happened to me in 2017, paid 65% of take-home on rent. That is affordable?
Enough already, LIC is overcrowded without more luxury condos. I can’t believe when I voted for a greedy luxury condo developer for president that he gave millions of dollars in tax breaks to greedy luxury condo developers, so they can build more and more. Who could have seen that coming?!
Talk to DeBlasio not Trump The City approved this Sorry Cant blame Trump for everything
Toni- Just like Trump never assumes responsibility for anything and is constantly blaming others. It was Obama, it was the Democrats, it was the media, it was Jeff Sessions, it was the FBI, it was the UN..etc. etc.
The REAL MRLIC here… Silent Majority. Only now are we finding out -IT WAS THE FBI, THE UN is only now doing the right things under TRUMP,The Dumb-Ocrats do want all ILLEGALS here with OPEN BORDERS,OBAMA wasn’t doing very good by cutting our Military etc…..Trump & Sessions sometime don’t see eye to eye is true, that happens with all Presidents and staff. Most of the MEDIA is against TRUMP,FACT.
Could it get anymore congested?
The FAKE MRLIC wrote the comment on June 22, 2018 about Greedy Developers. Why don’t he just get his own screen name?
TOO TOO MUCH. Can’t get on ferry as it is and can not get on 7 train. Just too much and the myth of this affordable housing does not work. How it really works is the first tier of residents get the lower AMI. But as the rich people move in, the AMI’s are allowed to be raised so then you have a low income AMI of 98 thousand as a example and this means the rich only get to rent the discounted apartments. Our AMI were raised here at related buildings. The low income AMI and the medium AMI Have now changed here. The Low Income apartments used to be around 21 thousand to qualify. Now it is up to around 60 thousand according to Related’s website. So this locks out all future low income pretty much, and a huge amount of medium income which Related has a AMI of over 100 thousand a year for a one bedroom. And the one bedroom rent would be $2992 a month. This is from Related’s website. And that is considered below market. All a sham. They know it, they just keep building till the rich have it all and at a discount. Join us and fight. Power in numbers. http://www.HuntersPointCrossing.com
I’m happy that it’ll feature over 1000 homes, but in an area so isolated I would have just went ahead and made them taller, pack as many people in as possible.
vcdcgad… You must be DELUSIONAL…… WHERE will you put these people on a already at capacity Transit System????? Where will they SHOP??? STORES are not coming with the RENTS they want. I know this project was in the work for some time now. It is all the other projects that have gone or are going up that has caused the problem. STOP BUILDING WITHOUT PROPER PLANNING ALREADY !!!!!!!!!!!! I hope to be out of NYC by the time these “STUPID BUILDINGS” go up. I can’t stand Manhattan and the overcrowding , which is what LIC is FAST BECOMING.
Thank you! Who could be gullible enough to support these greedy developers the way you did when you voted for Trump?!
80% of these apartments are affordable.
affordable where??? we pay $1600 for 5 room apt in Sunnyside a 2 fam house where the landlord has a paid off mortgage so he doesn’t need every last dime from us. Of course not much has been upgraded in 25 years but that’s the trade off..
rikki, I pay more for that in Sunnyside. It’s complete bullshit how expensive apartments are, but it’s a supply and demand issue. We are not building enough apartments for people who need them.
And before someone cries that the city is full. That argument is complete bull. You can’t tell younger people to go away or force them to spend 60% of their income on rent, it’s absurd.
you have to search out landlords who have no mortgage, and offer to help keep the place nice. when it snows im out at 7 am shoveling the sidewalk..i have to get out too. basic common sense will keep the rent under market
If you don’t build rents will continue to climb upward.
You shouldn’t be spending more than 20% of your income on housing but most people in this city are spending far more than that.