Funding Secured For Massive New Projects in LIC

Lightstone Group has secured a $51 million construction loan to build a 200-unit rental apartment complex off the Long Island City waterfront in Queens.The Manhattan-based developer is building a 13-story luxury building at 50-01 2nd Street, directly across the street from the city's massive affordable-housing development known as Hunter's Point South on the Long Island City waterfront.

The building is part of the massive Powerhouse Redevelopment Project in Long Island City – located on the site of the old Westinghouse Power station and the Schwartz Chemical Factory.

5,000 residential units will soon be built at Hunter's Point South on 2nd Street, just south of the site.  Also planned is a five story 1,071 seat middle school / high school.  Another new development directly across the street will have approximately 1,500 apartments.

The new rental development, which has already broken ground, will include a 24-hour doorman, state-of-the-art fitness center, yoga studio, roof deck and tenant lounge. It is expected to be completed by April 2014. Asking rents for the apartments have not yet been disclosed, but median rent based on listings in the area is $43 per square foot. The development is the developer's first project in New York City to get underway.

"We are excited to be moving forward with this project and to have CIBC as our partner," said David Lichtenstein, chief executive of The Lightstone Group, in a press statement. "This transaction shows the commitment that we at Lightstone have to development in New York City, as 50-01 2nd St. is one of several projects we hope to soon have underway here."

The developer though, expects to fetch about $48 per square foot for apartments, as the proximity to Manhattan and the waterfront allows it to fetch a premium.

In recent weeks, Lightstone has garnered attention for its proposed 700-unit residential rental project at the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn that would include a waterfront esplanade. The developer took over a similar project that had been planned for the site by homebuilder Toll Brothers. That company, however, pulled out after the area was designated as a contaminated Superfund site two years ago.

"We are willing to take on the risk," a company spokesperson said. "We are working through what we think will be a successful project and good thing for the community."

Meanwhile, in the Bronx, Lightstone is in the preliminary stages of planning to build a 1 million-square-foot site that is currently home to the Whitestone Multiplex Cinemas at 2505 Bruckner Boulevard in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx earlier this year.  One option would be a 600,000-square-foot outlet mall.   [See ElectricWeb | Blogger, July 16, 2012]

Nothing has been finalized yet for that site, with Lightstone continuing to look at other development sites.

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Yet Another Huge New Building Coming to Queens Plaza South

A row of dilapidated storefronts at the corner of 27th Street and Queens Plaza South, will soon meet with the wrecking ball.

According to our sources, a 450,000 square-foot, 22-story mixed-use tower may rise on the site as early as the middle of next year.

The seedy building has been the site of numerous failed nightclubs over the years, and two fires in recent years have left the second level crumbling.