Rendering of the proposed Innovation QNS district; courtesy of VERO Digital
A huge development that would have brought more than 3,000 units to Astoria has been scrapped. Silverstein Properties has withdrawn from Innovation QNS—a proposed 3,200-unit, $2 billion complex spanning five blocks— citing financing challenges tied to the expiration of the 421-a tax break and its replacement, the 485x program, as reported by Crain’s. While the larger plan has collapsed, remaining partners BedRock Real Estate Partners and L+M Development filed plans last week for a 560-unit building on one of the original sites.
The development had been touted as one of the city’s largest affordable housing projects and a major step toward easing New York’s housing shortage. The City Council approved the rezoning for Innovation QNS in November 2022.
According to spokesperson Dara McQuillan, Silverstein has turned its attention to Manhattan, with work underway at 2 and 5 World Trade Center and a casino proposal at the Javits Center. The firm has expressed uncertainty over the multifamily development tax policy following the expiration of 421-a in June 2022 and the creation of the 485x program.
Signs of the development’s failure to launch emerged earlier this year when two Silverstein-leased buildings slated for the development were sold to the Hakimian Organization and CW Realty, as reported by Crain’s.
The project faced early opposition from Queens Council Member Julie Won, who argued it didn’t provide enough affordable housing. She called for 55 percent of its apartments to be designated affordable. In the end, developers agreed to include more than 1,400 units of affordable housing, up from the 1,100 originally promised, as 6sqft previously reported.
In a statement to Crain’s on Wednesday, Won said Innovation QNS was “a controversial project with many ailments,” with “misaligned landlords, hundreds of community resistors, and no political support.”
While BedRock and L+M plan to build housing on the site, they control only two of the five original properties, leaving no path to realizing the full 3,200-unit plan.
New plans call for a 27-story, 560-unit, 498,000-square-foot tower at 35-18 Steinway Street, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle. The $47.7 million site is currently home to a 33,000-square-foot P.C. Richard store and parking, and the developers intend to keep space for the retailer in the project, according to The Real Deal.
BedRock and L+M plan to follow the rezoning’s affordable housing framework, with 45 percent of units set aside as affordable, including 15 percent for households earning 30 percent of the area median income.
“We are excited to move ahead with plans for much-needed housing, including deeply affordable housing, and are looking forward to working with the city to deliver additional affordable housing that reflects the goals of the original project’s ULURP approval,” project spokesman James Yolles told Crain’s.
Any future buildings on the remaining Innovation QNS sites could still benefit from the 2022 rezoning, which allows larger residential development. But it’s unclear if the city would require the same deep affordability levels, which under the original plan reserved about 800 units for families leaving the shelter system or earning below $72,900 for a family of three.
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