FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 9, 2020 • QUEENS BUSINESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
queens business
Developers unveil $2 billion plan to rebuild section
of Astoria focused on arts and creative industries
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A consortium of developers has
unveiled an ambitious $2 billion plan to
remake a fi ve-block section of Astoria in a
neighborhood-focused initiative dubbed
“Innovation QNS.”
Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silverstein
Properties and BedRock Real Estate
Partners presented their working plan
to Community Board 1 Land Use
Committee Wednesday detailing the project’s
2,700 units of mixed-income housing,
some 700 of which will be permanently
aff ordable, as well as 200,000
square feet of retail and 250,000 square
feet of space for creative industries and
other small businesses.
Th ere was considerable concern from
committee members over the density and
scale of the complex, especially a series of
towers, the tallest of which would be 26
stories high.
“I am proud that Kaufman Astoria
Studios has acted as an economic driver,
rejuvenating our immediate neighborhood
through smart, thought-out
development, and look forward to what
we started,” KAS President and CEO
Hal Rosenbluth said. “Working together
with our partners and our community,
which is fi lled with vibrant cultural
institutions, fast-growing creative
industries, and diverse
hard-working
neighbors, we
can continue to
mature, assuring
the sustainability
of what has
been created.”
Th e project,
funded by private
investment,
centered
on fi ve
blocks at the
intersection
of Steinway
Street and
35th Avenue
south to
Northern
Boulevard,
will replace
a “dormant
and unwelcoming”
section
of the
neighborhood
with
a “vibrant
and walkable”
one
with nearly
two acres of
open space,
p e d e s t r i -
an walkways
and plazas,
community health and wellness facilities,
dedicated senior housing, an arts and culture
hub, a state-of-the-art multiplex cinema,
a new full-service grocery store and
enhanced streetscapes.
“I’m very excited by the opportunity
to work with such great partners and
local stakeholders to reactivate this part
of Astoria as a district that will improve
the quality of life, not just for the people
who will live, learn, shop and visit there,
but for everyone who currently lives in
the immediate surroundings,” Silverstein
Properties Chairman and Founder Larry
Silverstein said. “Th is is a time when people
desperately need jobs, and this project
will serve as an enormously important
stimulus for Astoria and New York
City. Astoria embodies the audacity
and deter- mination
that has
d e f ined
our city
t i m e
a n d
time again. We will meet this moment
with resolve, ambition and ingenuity, and
emerge stronger than ever, just as we have
always done.”
Th e project will create 5,400 onsite jobs,
3,700 construction jobs and 1,700 permanent
jobs; it will not displace residents or
take away parking, but some businesses
will be relocated.
“Th e havoc created by COVID-19 hit
Queens harder than any community in
the nation. As we look to rebound, the
partnership behind Innovation QNS
is well-positioned to contribute meaningfully
to our recovery, as its partners
have led historic revitalization initiatives
before, including here in Astoria,” Queens
Chamber of Commerce President and
CEO Tom Grech said. “Th rough the substantial
private investment in Astoria,
it is proposing, this uniquely experienced
team will benefi t the residents
of Queens County.
To ensure our
communities
emerge from this crisis stronger
than before, I would encourage all to
support this eff ort to revitalize a key economic
corridor in western Queens along
Steinway Street.”
Th e partnership will continue to broaden
its dialogue with neighbors, other community
stakeholders and the Department
of City Planning to advance the plan with
a goal of beginning public review in 2021.
Construction is anticipated to start in
2023 with an initial activation in 2025.
Th e developers believe Innovation QNS
could be completed within a decade and
complement and build upon the Kaufman
Arts District that was established in 2014.
“Astoria is known throughout the world
as a community that nourishes creativity
and culture, especially related to fi lm and
media production, and educational programs
related to the media arts,” Museum
of the Moving Image Executive Director
Carl Goodman said. “Both MoMI and
Kaufman Astoria Studios have been a
driving force behind the community-informed
evolution of Astoria. We are excited
to see an initiative led by our neighbors
that will affi rm Astoria’s identity and create
opportunities for New Yorkers … We
look forward to partnering with Kaufman.
Silverstein Properties and BedRock to foster
and celebrate the next generation of
artists, performers, makers and creative
entrepreneurs.”
Renderings courtesy of ODA Architecture
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