By Bill Parry
The unprecedented growth in Long Island City is evident to anyone in western Queens with views of the rapidly changing skyline, especially in the Court Square and Queens Plaza sections.
A new real-estate market report released by the Long Island City Partnership shows the residential sector is exploding with nearly 9,000 new units slated to come on line in 2017, which would be the most in a single year in the neighborhood’s history and almost double the area’s existing inventory.
This will bring the total number of residential units built in Long Island City since 2006 to more than 20,000. The study shows 1,573 units are planned to come on line in 2018 with another 11,532 units planned for 2019 and beyond.
The report, titled “LIC Real Estate Snapshot” also showed that over the past 12 months, there was a volume of $2.13 billion in commercial and investment sales in the neighborhood.
The Snapshot was released at the partnership’s 12th annual Real Estate Breakfast, which has become a premier real-estate event in the borough as Long Island City remains one of New York’s most popular neighborhoods. More than 250 leaders in real estate, finance and the community gathered at the Con Edison Learning Center on Vernon Boulevard last week to hear about current projects underway and activity on the horizon in western Queens.
“Long Island City’s location, mixed-use character, cultural vibrancy and interdependence among the diverse businesses are this neighborhood’s greatest assets, which creates a perfect recipe for the district’s renaissance,” LIC Partnership President Elizabeth Lusskin said. “We anticipate even greater demand for space in LIC when Cornell Tech opens this year.”
The Roosevelt Island campus is scheduled to open later this year, attracting 2,000 graduate students and 280 faculty and staff.
During the breakfast, a panel discussed a mix of residential, commercial, retail, cultural and industrial developments, including market trends, sector and cross sector development, among other topics. Long Island City is also seeing a steep increase in hotels with 29 currently operating and 35 more in the planning or construction phase, which will add 4,670 or more rooms to the existing 2,900.
“As LIC has transformed, our annual Real Estate Breakfast has evolved to become a valuable source of information to all in economic development and the real estate industry looking for data to support their investments and policy decisions,” Lusskin said.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) was one of the featured speakers along with Borough President Melinda Katz and City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside).
“With our neighborhood growing rapidly, it is important to understand the preferred approaches toward expanding opportunities and continuing success for residents and businesses,” Gianaris said. “Any future development must ensure adequate infrastructure to handle our growing population, including additional schools, parks and open spaces, and vastly improved mass transit, particularly on the 7 line.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
