[NYguy]

Originally Posted by CIA

Some observations...

-We've seen a lot of information about the commercial component, but I wonder what about housing. There is such a housing shortage right now that I would not be surprised if housing is an integral part of the 20 acres, along with the office space. I seem to recall the RFP calling for mixed-use campuses.

I wouldn't worry too much about the housing. There was already talk of a coming housing glut in LIC, including not one, but 3 major new residential towers and massive amounts of units already under construction. Also, this plan would only utilize part of the site that was currently undergoing a rezoning for residential use. So potentially, even those sites that directly border the complex could still be built residential. This is all on top of the already existing potential development sites outside of the project boundaries.



https://archpaper.com/2018/11/govern...ty-amazon-hq2/

Governor Cuomo proposes rezoning in Long Island City as Amazon confirms HQ2 locations

By JONATHAN HILBURG
November 13, 2018

New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning to rezone the 20-acre Anable Basin site in Long Island City (LIC) using a General Project Plan (GPP) to accommodate the online retail giant. Though the area is currently zoned as a light manufacturing district, its owner, the plastic container company Plaxall, had previously tapped WXY for a master plan that would redevelop the industrial zone into a mixed-use redevelopment.

Using a GPP, the same process used to rezone Brooklyn’s Pacific Park (neé Atlantic Yards), the state would potentially be able to initiate a rezoning of Anable Basin without the approval of New York’s City Council. As a result, the basin and two adjacent city-owned sites that Amazon has been eyeing could potentially become a mixed-use campus and series of office buildings, zoned at a much higher density than New York’s zoning code would typically allow.

The Plaxall draft plan had previously angled to build 5,000 residential units, but as Crain’s noted, the GPP would allow for millions of square feet of office, residential, and mixed-use space. Although the GPP would still require an environmental review and is subject to community input during that phase, all of the recommendations received from the local community board and City Planning Commission would be non-binding.

In Amazon’s official HQ2 press release this morning, the company disclosed that New York State would be giving away $1.525 billion in tax credits. Most of that, $1.2 billion, would be returned through New York State’s Excelsior Program over 10 years, subsidizing each employee to the tune of $48,000. The remaining $325 million will be given to Amazon in the form of a direct grant from Empire State Development, based on the amount of square footage it’s expected to occupy.

In return, Amazon has pledged to invest $2.5 billion in each portion of its dual headquarters. A portion of the property taxes from the new Amazon campus will go toward funding transportation improvements in Long Island City, and the tech company has also promised to carve out space for a tech incubator and public primary school.

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