Only up, one started and five to go

With their first building to open next month, Rockrose Development Corporation broke ground last week on the second of its seven buildings to be built at Queens West. The new building, which will open in 2007, will house 394 rental apartments and 825 parking spaces.
In addition, the building will feature a 26,000 square foot health spa with a pool and 35,000 square feet of retail space with a grocery store. Along with lower rents than Manhattan - about three-quarters the price of the borough it sits across from — the building will have spectacular views of Manhattan.
Rockrose will occupy 22 acres of the 74-acre area planned for Queens West, and the corporation’s plot will be called the “East Coast” because it borders the water on 47th Road. Rockrose’s seven residential buildings - as well as a public elementary school and over seven acres of parks - comprise Stage II in the four stage, $2.3 billion project.
When the entire development is completed, Queens West will boast 19 residential buildings, a senior citizens residence, two schools, and an open waterfront.
In March, Avalon Bay, another developer in Queens West, also broke ground for its second tower, which will rise 39 stories high and hold 602 apartments.
With the two Rockrose buildings and the Avalon Riverview North, Avalon Bay’s apartment complex expected to be finished in 2008, three buildings will be completed in the next year and a half, opening up 2,400 apartments for leases.
“Rockrose is adding something very magnificent and special to this whole area,” said Borough President Helen Marshall during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Still local residents worry that as construction continues, pollution and noise will continue until the development is completed. In April 2005, developers had to stop construction completely when noxious fumes poured out of the site.
Advocates for affordable housing have also called on developers to include affordable units in Queens West plans, but as of yet none have been announced.