By Bill Parry
Hundreds of real estate industry professionals gathered at the Con Edison Learning Center on Vernon Boulevard for the Long Island City Partnership’s 9th Annual Real Estate Breakfast Wednesday.
The main feature of the event, entitled the “LIC Development Boom; Present Value, Future Impact,”was a panel discussion centered around current projects in the neighborhood, market influences, and the long-term impact on the LIC development wave.
LIC Partnership President Elizabeth Lusskin said, “This sold-out event was a great opportunity to learn about the dynamic market across all sectors of the LIC landscape,and about how those who are investing across the city see a unique value in this authentic mixed use neighborhood.”
The partnership gave attendees much more than breakfast to digest. It released a current market report called the LIC Development Snapshot, a compilation using original data as well as information gathered from real estate firms such as Modern Spaces, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, JRT and Cushman & Wakefield.
Over 8,600 residential units have been completed in LIC since 2006, and more than 22,500 units are in the planning or construction phase. Over 2 million-square-feet of Class A office space has been developed in LIC since 2003, occupied by major tenants such as JetBlue.
Over 20 hotels have opened in LIC since 2008 with another 26 currently in the planning or construction phase.
“As Long Island City continues to evolve and thrive, we thought it was important to take a step back and examine how the area can use this growth to its advantage in the coming year,” Lusskin said. “LIC is home to a diverse mix of companies and residents, and it’s crucial that future development continues to leverage the area’s storied past and meet its future needs, through the lens of dynamic current projects. We enjoyed the opportunity to discuss these topics with our panelists and attendees at this year’s breakfast.”
Among the panelists were Matthew Baron of Simon Baron Development, Joe Caplan of Jones Lang Lasalle and David Dishy of L+M Development Partners. The panel was moderated by David Brause of Brause Realty.
“Today’s breakfast featured a very enthusiastic discussion among some of the area’s industry leaders on the growth and demand for real estate in Long Island City,” Brause said. “The general consensus is that it’s a great timeto be in this market, and that the area will only continue to take off in the coming years.”
In true LIC development boom fashion, Brause had another appointment to attend to Wednesday morning. Brause hustled 13 blocks east for a ground-breaking ceremony for a 270-unit luxury rental apartment building at 44-28 Purves Street.
The 35-story tower will be built by Brause Realty and the Gotham Organization and it will include the latest in environmental technology utilizing both solar and wind energy. The project aims to offer high-end amenities, services and finishes.
The building will also receive Feng Shui certification.
Back at the Con Edison Learning Center, Lusskin was already looking ahead. “Many topics were raised about the needs of our growing community that we will be addressing at the LIC Summit on June 23 and we look forward to a great day of programming then.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
