Handel Architects/Durst Organization
April 5, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
The Durst Organization, the real estate giant building a 70-story development behind Queens Plaza’s Clock Tower, has revealed a new rendering displaying the project’s size and scale.
The rendering shows a concave design to the forthcoming 978,000 square-foot building, dubbed “Queens Plaza Park” rising well above the Clock Tower—miniature in comparison—in front of it.
The new mixed-use development will house 958 units, of which nearly 300 will be affordable. The landmarked Clock Tower building will be renovated as part of the project, and will accommodate over 50,000 square feet of commercial and retail spaces.
The project also includes a public park spanning one-half acre in front of the residential tower.
Amenities at the development include an outdoor pool, a resident library, co-working areas, and a 20,000 square foot retail gym. A renovated Queens Plaza subway entrance is also part of the project.
The development was designed by Handel Architects, with Selldorf Architects in charge of the project’s interior, lobby, and amenities.
The Durst Organization purchased the property at 29-37 41st Ave. for $167 million in 2016. The site was previously owned by Property Markets Group and Kamran Hakim.
The Durst Organization did not immediately respond to questions on the development, including its anticipated completion date.
News of the rendering was first reported by City Realty.
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21 Comments
Some of you criticize every single development as ugly glass buildings. This building looks great and is unique for sure. You’re so stuffy with your critique of design. I’m curious to know what type of building design you’d be happy with.
Where are the schools?
This building is so pointless and bland it could be one of brooklynmc’s comments.
There goes my view of the Empire State Building from my front porch. After 20 years of purchasing my home and raising my kid in LIC, my wife and I have been seriously considering getting out of here. It will be unbearable to live here, it will be super crowded, the inequality in this neighborhood, the haves — living in luxury in their new high rises full of amenities and down the block the have not’s, living at the Verve, La Quinta Inn and other homeless shelters scattered in the area being pushed into the streets during the day, with small pockets of working class ethnic families three/four families in and overcrowded apartment because they can’t afford the rents and my neighbors being squeezed by this city with higher taxes, insurance and water rates many elderly on fixed incomes with nowhere to go. Why not create affordable housing for the working poor, for the people, create neighborhoods and a community, instead of allowing the construction of more and more hotels just to then house the homeless enriching the hotel owners and the not-for-profit founders who are reaping the rewards through our taxpayer dollars. Mayor DiBlasio should be ashamed of himself, what DiBlasio has a created is a new apartheid and has divided our city more than ever before. Jimmy Van Bramer and the Mayor are in it for the money, they don’t care about the homeless, working class people, the poor, only themselves and lining their pockets and enriching their friends who have built these projects/hotels throughout our community.
Sadly, I feel the same way. Unfortunately this is the way of the new New York, not just LIC. There’s almost nowhere else to go.
Well, the good thing is that your property is probably worth 10 times what you paid for it. I wish that was the case for me.
Another banal design. Hopefully the concave design will act like a wind sail and blow it into the East River along with the architects.
I guess everyone prefers the crackhead and hookers of yesteryear
It wasn’t as bad as you make it out to be. I don’t want to see any more Ivory Tower for the RICH either. We have more than enough, that is why many people who comment here and I speak to are fed up.
Agree with MRLIC- there was once a real community in LIC, despite the old industrial nature of the neighborhood. Yes, there was a point where there were hookers, but it didn’t take away from the fact that everyone in the neighborhood knew each other, knew each others families, and looked out for one another. There were even times the hookers looked out for you! (not in the monetary way) Now there are a bunch of transplants and transients who don’t seem to care in the same way about other people or the neighborhood.
And there’s a huge misconception about the old LICers. We’re not against all development, we just want what we’ve been talking about all along- responsible development. That includes better infrastructure, more green space, leaders who actually listen to the community and not big real estate, and an end to the glut of luxury high rises and hotels. What’s happening in LIC is completely irresponsible. You may not understand the effects now, but in the future when you have to let five E trains pass before you can get on one train- before you can get on the platform even- then you’ll understand.
Why blame the rich? What if the same people you blame start talking the same way about you?
Good point. We need to stop catering to the RICH that want to build more ivory towers, the way you did when you voted for the RICH guy that builds ivory towers with his name on them for president. How gullible.
another new building in an already over built queensboro plaza! more people to stuff in the sardine packed 7 train! please por favor can we deal with infrastructure and transportation before over taxing an already over taxed transportation system! real estate vultures! the blood sucker real estate barons of the bloomberg era live on! subway inprovement please and how about something green like a real park with those things we call trees!!!
Finally! A building that has some character. I hope the final product is as nice as the rendering.
See, that’s a problem. You can look at a hideous, bland, over-the-top hulking glass monstrosity and say it has character? Honestly, what planet are you from? Whenever I read your comments, I nearly always click the thumbs-down. Take a DNA test and prove you are a New Yorker, for chrissakes.
Oh no, please don’t click thumbs-down! Go away troll.
This is getting OLD. Leave the poor people who are already like sardines on the Buses & Trains etc. alone. Building without planning is rampant in LIC. Mr. VAN BRAMER, STOP THIS BUILDING. Have some rallies against this development. All future development also. Especially of this magnitude.
No more development! No progress. Keep the status quo! In fact, let’s regress! UNBUILD! Let’s tear down the high rises and build 3 story apartments, then tear those down and build single family homes. Then we’ll tear those down and build wooden shanties, to be replaced by mud brick huts. Then let’s crush those to form the base of more parkland. But put in more subways! But make them steam-engines. Or coal. Or horse-drawn cart shares (ZipCart). Bring back 1712! The undercrowding was fantastic!
Wait, that’s now how our world works? Hmm.
Very cool building and I think it looks great next to the older/classic clock tower building.
Glad to see that the neighborhood is getting some nice architecture.
People who move here are well aware that transit gets crowded during the rush hours, hopefully many of the newcomers will be working in all the office and commercial space that already exists or is being simultaneously developed within walking distance of Queens Plaza.
It’s uuuuuge!
What a monstrosity. The ‘affordable units’ will be priced well out of the range of lower-income people. I hope the Durst Organization is planning to build another subway. Just pile on more people without adding to the infrastructure.