A new city street in Long Island City, Malt Drive, is bringing extra residential units and community space to the community.
Construction is nearing completion on a 1.43 million-square-foot luxury residential development at 2-20 and 2-21 Malt Dr. Additionally, Hunter’s Point South Park, located along the waterfront, will be significantly expanded, with new open space available for residents of the new development and the public.
Malt Drive’s name comes from the site’s prior history as a sugar cane processing facility turned beer distribution center. The site of these two new blocks had its elevation increased to better protect the buildings along this waterfront location.
Leasing for both buildings is expected to begin in the summer. This new development will create 1,386 new residences at Hunter’s Point South. Both buildings are expected to have a 30% affordable housing lottery component at 130% of the area median income.
The 33-story South building, located at 2-20 Malt Dr., will have 575 units, 291 of which will be in the base and 284 in the tower. The adjacent North building, at 2-21 Malt Dr., will be comprised of 811 units and two towers. Its base will have 376 units. The 25-story West Tower will have 196 units, while the 38-story East Tower will have 239 units.
Amenities for residents will include on-site parking, bike storage, co-working space, lounges, fitness centers, shared laundry rooms, in-unit washers and dryers, playrooms for children, roof decks with barbeque grills, sundecks and courtyards. Some units will also have private outdoor spaces. The South building will also have an outdoor swimming pool, as well as dog grooming amenities.
Known as Malt Drive Park, the expansion at Hunter’s Point South Park will add three-and-a-half acres of park space and approximately 700 feet of public access along the shoreline.
The project is being worked on by New York City-based developer TF Cornerstone. The developer worked with the design firm SCAPE Landscape Architecture to design the expansion of the park. The buildings were designed by SLCE Architects.
“Malt Drive Park unlocks a new piece of the city’s waterfront. Located at the confluence of Newtown Creek and the East River, every aspect of the design speaks to this relationship. The landscape gently slopes toward the creek, and the paths meander like the flow of water,” SCAPE Founding Principal and Partner Kate Orff said. “The park is also designed to be resilient long into the future, withstanding flooding events and filtering the water of the creek through its plantings. We hope that visitors come to the park and feel a strong sense of connection with the water.”
Features of Malt Drive Park will include broad sidewalks, meandering paths with seating areas and the incorporation of native plantings, including bald cypress, swamp white oaks, American hornbeam and red maples. Many of these plantings are also flood-resistant. The park’s design flows through different areas, including a “filter forest” with social seating and play structures, a civic grove and dog run, an outdoor classroom, numerous picnic areas, and an open lawn with expansive views of the water and industrial artifacts that were reclaimed during construction.
Newtown Creek was installed with microhabitat stone and concrete beds in an effort to stabilize the shoreline from erosion and protect marine life.
“TF Cornerstone is excited to continue our decades-long commitment to Long Island City with the upcoming opening of our buildings on Malt Drive,” TF Cornerstone Senior Vice President and Director of Planning Jon McMillan said. “Queens embodies community, and we love being a part of that in Long Island City. At Hunter’s Point South, we are part of a growing neighborhood and hope to continue to contribute to its evolution with new housing, parks, waterfront access – even a new street – all in an area with a fascinating history.”
The Lawrence Group, an architectural firm in New York City, helped design 25,000 square feet of retail spaces along Second Street inspired by the style of the Meatpacking District. These spaces will feature soaring ceilings, canopies and accordion-style storefronts that open up to the sidewalks. There will also be plenty of outdoor seating available.
As TF Cornerstone searches for proper tenants to occupy these retail spaces, they will be prioritizing those of smaller sizes in an effort to retain the local character of Malt Drive. There are already plans to include a local coffee shop as the anchor of the retail spaces.
“Malt Drive presented us with a unique opportunity to design a new neighborhood that would seamlessly integrate, in spirit and aesthetic, into the thriving Long Island City community,” SLCE Architects Design Partner James Davidson said. “We reduced its large scale through the use of varying brick colors, crafting a palette that includes texture and visual interest to create neighborhood context at the pedestrian level. By creatively using brick and keeping the use of glass on the exterior to a minimum, we were able to harmonize Malt Drive with its surroundings and reinforce its sense of neighborhood and historic legacy.”
In addition to TF Cornerstone’s involvement in this project, TF Cornerstone has also shown its commitment to the local community. In December, they announced a grant to Hunter’s Point Parks Conservancy to provide educational and environmental classes and programming at the Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Center in Hunter’s Point South. The grant reflected TF Cornerstone’s commitment to supporting the neighborhood and nurturing a strong bond with the Hunter’s Point South community. In addition to the grant, TFC continues to show support for the Hunter’s Point Parks Conservancy and has throughout the years.
Thanks to TF Cornerstone’s continued sponsorship with Culture Lab LIC, an arts and culture collective serving western Queens and the local Long Island City community, the Culture Lab stage has been renamed “Malt Drive Stage.” TF Cornerstone’s sponsorship supports artists and musicians in Culture Lab LIC’s “LIVE!” series, which includes free concerts alongside sponsoring various community events aimed at further cultural engagement within the neighborhood.
The Malt Drive developments offer views of the Manhattan skyline, as well as the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. For more information on the development, visit www.maltdrive.com.
