FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 15, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
in Queens
Photo via Shutterstock
One Court Square, the former Citicorp Building,
in Long Island City
Amazon to
move into LIC
tower next year
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@cnglocal.com
@QNS
Amazon’s not wasting time shipping
itself to Long Island City: they will begin
moving staff into One Court Square, the
former Citicorp Building, next year.
Th e former Citigroup building will serve
as a headquarters while work gets underway
on its new HQ2 campus in the neighborhood.
Savanna, the real estate company
that bought the tower last year,
announced Amazon would lease 1 million
square feet of space and that the e-commerce
giant had already signed a letter of
intent.
“We’re thrilled that Amazon selected
One Court Square as a critical component
of its HQ2 plans for Long Island City,”
Savanna managing partner Nicholas
Bienstock said in a statement. “It’s truly
a privilege for Savanna to have the opportunity
to partner with Amazon in a transaction
that has the potential for tremendous
job creation for New York City, and
we look forward to a successful execution
that will bring extraordinary benefi ts to
the neighborhood, the city and region as
a whole.”
Citigroup had been the anchor tenant
in the tower since 1990, but planned on
vacating offi ce space on 31 fl oors in 2020.
Th e fi nancial giant will speed up the relocation
of its workers in the fi rst half of next
year to make way for Amazon.
“We have committed to vacate certain
fl oors at One Court Square early and
move about 1,100 of the colleagues who
presently work there to alternate locations,
including Long Island City and our
Tribeca Headquarters,” Citi CEO Michael
Corbat said in a press release. “Given what
it would mean to New York and Long
Island City to have Amazon establish a
signifi cant presence here, we want to do
our part to make it happen.”
Two LIC real estate giants part of Amazon HQ2 plans
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@cnglocal.com
@QNS
Two companies with names long familiar
to Long Island City residents are partnering
with Amazon to build its new
HQ2 campus along the waterfront, just
south of the Queensboro Bridge.
Plaxall — the family-owned plastics
company — and developer TF
Cornerstone have shelved their own plans
to build mixed-use developments on private
and public land in order to construct
four million square feet of commercial
space over the next 10 years. Th ey’ll also
have expansion opportunities for up to 8
million square feet over the next 15 years
between Vernon Boulevard and the East
River around the Anable Basin.
TF Cornerstone, the builder of seven of
the high-rise towers on Center Boulevard,
was selected by the city last year to build
the Long Island Innovation Center on
public owned land at the end of 44th
Drive. Th e massive, mixed-use complex
was to include 1,000 residential units in
two towers. Plans for the residential portion
of the LICIC has now been converted
to commercial space, while it’s amenities
will remain unchanged.
“As a family-owned company founded
by Queens natives, TF Cornerstone
is proud to welcome Amazon to Long
Island City, bringing new jobs to the borough
and preserving signifi cant public
benefi ts, including workforce development,
local hiring prioritizing Queens
residents, a manufacturing hub, new
school and public open space for the
community to enjoy,” TF Cornerstone
Principal Jake Elghanayan said. “We have
been actively involved with the Long
Island City community about the future
of this site and look forward to our continued
work together to create a great
project for all.”
Plaxall, which headquartered in Long
Island City for more than 70 years,
announced plans in 2017 to rezone a
15-acre parcel that surrounds Anable
Basin for a mixed-use district that would
include 5,000 residential units and a
waterfront esplanade to make the inlet
accessible to the public.
“We are proud to have a partner in
Amazon that shares that vision,” Plaxall
said in a statement. “We have seen fi rsthand
in Seattle how the company has
worked to develop and integrate its campus
and employees into the surrounding
community and we know Amazon
intends to execute a similar vision here.
Plaxall welcomes Amazon to LIC and
looks forward to continuing our longstanding
discussions with the community
about Anable Basin as plans move
forward.”
Rendering courtesy of Plaxall
Plaxall’s planned development at Anable Basin will now become part of Amazon’s HQ2 campus
surrounding the waterway in Long Island City.
Amazon HQ could speed up creation of new LIC apts.
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Residential development around Long
Island City has skyrocketed in recent
years, and it could only go faster now
that Amazon will build part of its second
headquarters in the neighborhood.
RENTCafe recently released a report
on Nov. 14 that explores the impact that
the new Amazon headquarters would
have on Long Island City residents as
well as those who are looking to move
there in terms of rent and apartment
supply.
Th e report found that Long Island City
already has a high occupancy rate, with
98.2 percent of existing residences fi lled.
Th e high rate would make it diffi cult
for potential renters (including potential
Amazon employees) to fi nd an apartment
in the neighborhood.
However, RENTCafe believes that the
choice to bring the new Amazon headquarters
to Long Island City could speed
up construction on new apartments.
Long Island City currently has 15,400
units under construction, in planned or
in a prospective phase.
Home to many existing luxury apartments,
Long Island City is no stranger
to high rent rates. Current rent rates in
Long Island City have risen to an average
A rendering of the Galerie, one of many condos that have been developed recently in Long Island
City
of $3,458 per month as of October
2018, marking a 5.1 percent increase
since last year.
Th e report also explored what kind of
potential employees Amazon might fi nd
in Long Island City. According to its
fi ndings, Long Island City’s millennial
Renderings courtesy of Binyan Studios
population is 43 percent, with 45 percent
of their total population holding a bachelor’s
degree or higher. Additionally, the
report found that the average income of
families in the neighborhood is $54,109.
To read the full report, visit rentcafe.
com.
link
link
link
