[Hypothalamus]

Bisnow:

Jamaica Is About to Look Way Different
April 21, 2014

The master plan and rezoning are done, parcels are assembled, and BRP Cos is about to break ground on a 600k SF apartment and retail building that will spark loads more private development. (Take a photo now, so it can become a then photo in 20 years.)

We snapped Greater Jamaica Development president Carlisle Towery, whose org has been teeing up redevelopment to take advantage of the $350M JFK AirTrain station and the connected LIRR and subway hubs. If all gets built, the master plan allows for 4.3M SF of new development.

GJD recently completed an assemblage of 11 parcels and sold it to BRP, which is doing its diligence on exactly what will be included. GJD real estate head Justin Rodgers tells us it'll have at least 400 apartments, at least 80k SF of retail on the first two floors, and 300 below-grade parking spots.

Here's the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue now. The subway entrance right behind Carlisle will move across Archer to the north side of the street, and Archer is being widened. The $225M, 20-story BRP project will replace this three-story Duane Reade building (demolition is about to begin—you can probably get a good price on some trail mix and gauze) and extend more than halfway down the block along Archer (beyond the reach of our camera). Carlisle tells us the rezoning upped density near the transportation center but balances itself by maintaining or even downzoning in the more residential surrounding area.

Walking from Duane Reade along Sutphin, we came across this underpass under the rail lines. These once were the LIRR loading docks. Now that the mechanicals have been rearranged and pushed to the back of the space, it's becoming a 6,000 SF retail arcade called The Shops at Station Plaza.

The first tenant is already in: the waiting room for the 15-minute shuttle to Resort World Casino. 4,500 people take the ride every day.

At the south end of the arcade, Able Management is building a 24-story, 240-key Hilton Garden Inn to support JFK, which is underserved, Carlisle and Justin tell us. It'll break ground this year and deliver 18 months later. (It will also be haunted by ghost trees on top of the second floor.)

From the AirTrain station, we snapped part of the hotel site (the green building in the foreground) and part of the next parcel that GJD hopes will attract a private developer. The site can support as much as 1.2M SF. Nearby is a third parcel that could accommodate an even larger project.

Across the street and next to the air train station is yet another full-block parcel. The Sutphin-facing strip is destined to become a park. And other parcels are awaiting development, as well.

The 368-block rezoning allows for 5,200 housing units, 2.1M SF of retail, 1.8M SF of office, and as many as 2,000 hotel rooms. Some developers have already started developing a few blocks from the transit hub, which we snapped above from Sutphin and Archer. Dermot's 346-unit Moda at 153-50 89th Ave and Ciampa's 190 units nearby have delivered, and apartments in The Bluestone Org's 100-unit Norman Towers at 90-14 161st St are coming online now.