NYCEDC Eyes Potential Redevelopment of LIC DOE Building

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is looking to redevelop a New York City Department of Education building in Long Island City, Queens.

The NYCEDC released a request for information (RFI) Monday to “solicit ideas and interest” regarding the potential redevelopment of all or a portion of 44-36 Vernon Boulevard, also known as the Vernon Building, according to a Monday announcement.

The proposal is “in line with the goals” of the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, a 54-block rezoning effort in Long Island City that would allow more residential development in the area, as Commercial Observer previously reported. The public review process for the OneLIC plan began last month.

The city-owned Vernon Building, a six-story building that currently acts as a hub for DOE operations across the entire city, was constructed in the 1930s and 1940s and comprises nearly 700,000 square feet of storage, warehouse and office space, according to the announcement.

The NYCEDC said the building could be redeveloped through “adaptive reuse to provide a mix of light industrial, office, retail, cultural and/or community-serving uses,” the announcement said.

“The Vernon Building presents a potential opportunity to deliver waterfront access, open space, be a driver of jobs and economic opportunity, and many other exciting new uses envisioned by the community in the OneLIC plan,” NYCEDC President and CEO Andrew Kimball said in a statement. “This RFI will help inform how the site could be transformed to deliver maximum benefit to the Long Island City community.”

The NYCEDC will use responses to the RFI to “understand the level of interest” in pursuing the redevelopment, as well as the “potential benefits, challenges and feasibility of such a project,” according to the announcement. Responses are due Aug. 27.

OneLIC, which includes the mostly industrialized zoned area along the Long Island City waterfront between Queensbridge Houses and Hunters Point, aims to create nearly 14,700 new homes — including at least 4,000 income-restricted affordable homes — 14,400 new jobs, and more than 3 million square feet of commercial space, as CO previously reported.

If approved, OneLIC would allow high-rise apartment and condo complexes to be built along the waterfront, near Court Square and along 44th Drive. Other city-owned properties in the rezoning include 44-59 45th Avenue and 4-99 44th Drive.

“Uses for public land in Long Island City should be determined by the public,” Councilmember Julie Won, who represents the neighborhood, said in a statement. “Responses gathered through the RFI process will help to ensure that future development on public sites is shaped by community feedback, and that proposals truly reflect our community’s priorities.”

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.