FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 5, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
City taps architect firm to create Sunnyside Yard plan
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
The city has chosen architect firm PAU
to come up with a plan to develop the
180-acre Sunnyside Yard, a project Mayor
Bill de Blasio has said could produce up to
24,000 housing units.
In February, the Economic
Development Corporation (EDC) produced
a study to determine the feasibility
of building a deck over the yard,
which is owned by the MTA and Amtrak.
According to the EDC, the project could
cost between $16 and $19 billion.
Crain’s New York reported on March
29 that architect Vishaan Chakrabarti
and his team won a request for proposals
issued by the city in November to create
the plan. The city and PAU did not confirm
the deal to the outlet.
The EDC proposed last February several
different test cases that would focus on
developing a mostly residential project,
a “live/work/play” project or making it a
“destination” project with mostly mixeduse
development.
The residential option would create
between 18,000 and 24,000 units of housing.
About 5,400 to 7,200 of those units
would be considered affordable housing.
According to the test case, 13 to 19
schools would also be built on the property
if that option was chosen.
The second test case would contain
office space, retail, 10 to 14 schools but
less housing. The third option would create
no office space but would contain
16,000 to 22,000 units of housing, 600,000
to 800,000 square feet of neighborhood
retail and 10 to 14 schools.
The study found that decking and construction
is feasible in 80 to 85 percent of the
yard and 15 to 20 percent, primarily over the
Main Line, is infeasible. Areas of the yard
that are “cost prohibitive” or infeasible could
become parks, roads or open spaces.
According to the study, the project
could take 15 years to develop, when
Mayor de Blasio is no longer in office.
The work to come up with a design plan
could take up to two years and according
to Crain’s, the city has argued that it’s
crucial to have blueprints before Amtrak
begins constructing a new High Speed
Rail Facility in Sunnyside Yard to accommodate
Photo courtesy of Jim Henderson/Wikipedia Commons
new trains.
EDC and Amtrak have agreed to a plan
that will allow the city to build above this
new facility.
“We remain on track with the original
schedule for this project,” a spokesman
for the EDC told Crain’s. “We continue to
work closely with Amtrak, and we will also
engage community stakeholders before
beginning any master-planning process.”
The city has chosen a firm to create a plan for Sunnyside Yard.
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