A work of art will soon emerge in Long Island City.
The Queens Council on the Arts (QCA), a nonprofit organization that aims to support and develop artists in the borough, will be expanding its services to a new, mixed-use property in Long Island City.
O’Conner Capital Partners, the owner of a 188-unit property called the Maximilian, announced on Friday that they extended a letter of intent to the organization to become the anchor tenant. The QCA would operate a 5,000-square-foot community space at 5-11 47th Ave. in addition to its location at 37-11 35th Ave. in Astoria. It will be used to host programming such as exhibitions, workshops and classes, and to house working artists’ studios and office space.
The real estate firm bought the 2-acre property in 2006 and sold a portion of the site in 2015 to The Graduate Center of the City University of New York for affordable student and faculty housing. Construction for the project was completed in April 2014 and the retail space opened in October 2014.
“We gratefully acknowledge O’Connor Capital Partners’ commitment to QCA’s work and look forward to providing local groups the opportunities to create, exhibit and build strong and vibrant artistic communities,” said QCA Executive Director Hoong Yee Krakauer.
The QCA was founded in 1966 by Jeanne Dale Katz, the mother of current Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. It provides grants, professional development and education services to emerging artists and is also credited with advancing the development of the Queens Museum of Art, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and the Colden Center at Queens College.
“We look forward to working with the Queens Council on the Arts to successfully complete our original plan and vision for the property, and we are pleased to be a part of the cultural growth and development of the arts in Long Island City, which is a vibrant cultural center of New York City,” said William Q. O’Connor, president and CEO of O’Connor Capital Partners.
