7 Major Developments Coming To NYC's Outer Boroughs
When it comes to the city’s construction boom, Manhattan developments soak up much of the attention.
But of the billions spent on building in New York City, a significant chunk is going into the boroughs. Between 2013 and 2017, just a third of new ground-up construction was in Manhattan, the New York City Building Congress found last year.
Overall, the NYBC expects there to be $59.3B in construction spending this year, followed by $56.4B in 2020. As the city continues to adjust to the impact of the population growth over the last few years — and developers continue to seek out new areas — there is no doubt the boroughs will continue to see the effects of development.
Here’s a look at seven projects being built in the boroughs right now:
Admiral's Row
Developer: Steiner NYC
Location: Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn
Type: Mixed-Use
Completion Date: 2021
Once home to 19th-century mansions that had fallen into disrepair, the swath of land at Flushing Avenue and Navy Street at the southwest corner of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is being turned into a new mixed-use development by Doug Steiner’s Steiner NYC. The project will feature the city’s first Wegmans, a 74K SF space with a restaurant and bar, which is due to open in late October.
Along with the Wegmans, there is 85K SF of retail space, a parking structure with 435 spaces, 356K SF of light industrial and office space that is master-leased to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp., and 5K SF for a community facility. Last year, M&T Bank and BNY Mellon provided $228M in construction financing, although Steiner said at the time the firm had already moved forward without a loan and many of the buildings were topped out. The project is slated to be complete in 2021.
Front & York
Developer: CIM Group and LIVWRK
Location: Dumbo, Brooklyn
Type: Residential
Completion: 2021
LIVWRK and CIM are creating a 1.1M SF Morris Adjmi-designed development at this former Jehovah’s Witnesses-owned site at 85 Jay St. in Dumbo. Once a parking lot, Front & York will feature condominiums, rentals, retail and 150K SF of amenities — including a rooftop pool, wine rooms and a coworking lounge.
The same designer responsible for the Brooklyn Bridge Park, Michael Van Valkenburg Associates, is creating a residents-only landscaped park that will span 25K SF. The project has also bagged a major tenant: Last month, Life Time inked a deal for a 77K SF wellness and fitness club at the site. The development is slated to be finished in 2021, according to the New York Post.
The development group paid $345M for the site three years ago; just one of several properties the Witnesses sold as part of their relocation upstate.
Kushner Cos. was one of the buyers at the time, but sold its stake in the property last year — along with its piece in the former Watchtower building, which CIM and LIVWRK have redeveloped into an office complex known as Panorama that is soon to open its doors.
2401 Third Ave. and 101 Lincoln Ave.
Developer: Brookfield
Location: Mott Haven, South Bronx
Type: Mixed-Use
Preliminary work at Brookfield’s massive mixed-used development is underway, and the official groundbreaking is set for the fall. The development marks Brookfield’s first foray into the Bronx — it paid $165M for the 4-acre site to Somerset Partners and Chetrit Group last year — and the acquisition was considered a game changer for the market in the borough.
Once complete, the project will feature 1,300 housing units, 30% of which will be a mix of affordable and workforce housing. In total, the company plans to build seven new towers at the site on the waterfront, and the project will also feature retail and commercial space alongside the units.
“It had all those things that we love … critical mass and scale, transportation and the perfect ingredients for placemaking, creating a neighborhood,” Brookfield’s Ben Brown said of the site earlier this year. “It was definitely one that we spent a lot of time thinking about, and we're really excited.”
Lighthouse Point
Developer: Triangle Equities
Location: Staten Island
Type: Mixed-Use
Completion: Estimated for 2021 (Phase 2)
Triangle Equites’ Lighthouse Point is part of the massive reimagining of Staten Island's waterfront, which has resulted in the construction of the city’s first outlet store in Empire Outlets and the plans for the now-canceled New York Wheel.
The first phase of the development will feature 65K SF in a residential tower and a 300-space garage, according to Triangle’s website. Coworking company Regus has already inked a deal there for the commercial space, and the 115-unit building — with 20% of units set aside for affordable housing — will have residents moving in next year, according to the Staten Island Advance, which reported in June that 80% of the first phase is complete.
In the second phase of the project, set to start in 2020, per the Advance, four historic buildings along the waterfront will be turned into office, retail and hospitality space — and will also feature a Westin New York Staten Island hotel.
The Rowan at 21-21 31st St.
Developer: RockFarmer Properties
Location: Astoria, Queens
Type: Condominium
Completion: 2020
RockFarmer Properties is building a 46-unit condominium building in Astoria — an area that has seen significant jump in development in recent years.
The six-story building on 31st Street between Ditmars Boulevard and 21st Avenue features 22K SF of retail space as well as residences between 425 and 1,857 SF. Amenities will include a fitness center, a soundproof music practice room and a pet spa. Asking prices will be between $495K and $2.1M.
The developer certainly isn’t the only one bringing residential space to the area. The Durst Organization is planning a seven-building project on the waterfront called Halletts Point, and earlier this year opened its first rental project — and there are many more residential units in the pipeline for the area. And while Queens was dealt a blow earlier this year when it lost the highly anticipated Amazon HQ2, there has been plenty of other activity there — with Amazon itself said to be looking at leasing a big facility in Maspeth, and Robert De Niro reportedly planning a $400M production studio with development firm Wildflower in Astoria.
The Dime, 209 Havemeyer St.
Developer: Tavros Holdings, Charney Construction and Development and 1 Oak Contraction
Location: South Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Type: Mixed-Use
Completion: 2019
The former Dime Savings Bank building in Williamsburg is being turned into a 23-story, 350K SF mixed-use tower, and construction is set to wrap up this year. The bank, a landmarked Beaux-Arts-style building built in 1908, is being incorporated into the new 350K SF structure. The building features 177 rental units, more than 100K SF of commercial office space, 50K SF of retail and 300 below-grade parking spaces.
The developers scored a $150M construction loan in 2017 from Square Mile Capital Management, according to The Real Deal, having paid $80M for the site a year earlier.
The Peninsula
Developer: Gilbane Development Co., The Hudson Cos. and MHANY Management Inc.
Location: Hunts Point, The Bronx
Type: Mixed-Use, affordable housing
Completion: 2025
Once the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, this abandoned block is being turned into a massive affordable housing, mixed-use development.
The prison itself was demolished earlier this year. In July, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Housing Development Corp. and the New York City Economic Development Corp. announced plans for Phase 1 of the $125.5M project.
When it is totally finished, the Peninsula will have 740 affordable housing units, 52K SF of open space, 56K SF of light industrial space, and 17K SF for retail and community facilities like a day care and artist workspace. Construction has begun on Phase 1, which includes 183 low-income homes — with 10% set aside for formerly homeless people. The first residential phase will be done in 2021, and the entire project is expected to be finished in 2025.
