NYC to Open Bids for 672K-SF Long Island City Warehouse Once Set to House Amazon HQ2

Mayor Eric Adams’s administration plans to open bids for a 672,000-square-foot warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, that was once planned to be Amazon (AMZN)’s New York City headquarters.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is set to release a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) on the property at 44-36 Vernon Boulevard this spring, according to a source familiar with the matter. Crain’s New York Business first reported the news.

The submissions will be due by the end of this summer, and the EDC is looking for commercial, industrial and “community-serving” tenants for the six-story building, which has long been occupied by the city’s Department of Education, the source said.

“The redevelopment of the 44-36 Vernon Boulevard building has the potential to provide Long Island City with additional waterfront access and amenities that the community has longed for,” a spokesperson for the EDC told Commercial Observer. “NYCEDC looks forward to working together with Councilmember Julie Won and city agency partners on the upcoming request for expressions of interest and learning from the community about potential concepts and uses for this building.”

In addition to redeveloping the Vernon Avenue warehouse, the city is considering rezoning two adjacent parking lots at 4-99 44th Drive and 44-59 45th Avenue, Crain’s reported. The two lots, which are currently owned by the New York City Department of Transportation and the Department of Small Business Services, are not part of the RFEI, according to Crain’s.

New zoning and updated uses for the parking lots are possible following approval of Adams’s City of Yes plan.

Amazon once planned to build its headquarters at the Vernon Boulevard warehouse and hire as many as 25,000 tech workers, but the company pulled out of its deal in 2019 to lease the waterfront property for 99 years, Crain’s reported.

Amazon removed its bid after local politicians criticized the e-commerce giant for taking almost $3 billion in financial incentives from the city and state through a tax incentive program called the Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP). Amazon instead built its headquarters in Northern Virginia. 

Submissions to the EDC’s RFEI will inform the city about potential opportunities and future approaches to the building, as well as provide possible development plans, the source said.

However, many small businesses, artists and advocates in Long Island City have said the property should be used as a community center, the Patch reported.

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