City Seeks Developer for Vacant Parcel at Hunter’s Point South in LIC

New York City is looking for a developer to build on a vacant parcel of land within the 30-acre Hunter’s Point South housing complex in Long Island City, Queens.

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) released a request for proposals on Friday to turn a vacant site in the neighborhood — known as Parcel E — into a “multi-building, mixed-use development” with affordable homes, market-rate homes, commercial space, community facility space, and an approximately 1,800-square-foot public open space, according to an announcement.

Parcel E covers about 70,000 square feet and has an address at 54-42 Second Street, Crain’s New York Business reported.

The development will be the sixth of seven parcels set to be developed in the Hunter’s Point South complex, an area on which developers have already created more than 3,000 new homes, two schools, an 11-acre waterfront park and several community amenities, the announcement said.

In addition, in response to New York City’s housing affordability crisis, the HPD has required that the developer chosen for Parcel E provide “more affordable homes compared to previous phases,” meaning at least 60 percent of the residential units should be income-restricted, “including at least one 100 percent affordable building,” according to the announcement.

“This administration understands that the key to solving the housing crisis is to build more mixed-income housing,” Adolfo Carrión Jr., deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce, said in a statement.

“The Hunter’s Point South request for proposals will transform a city-owned lot into an asset for Long Island City, delivering hundreds of affordable and market-rate homes, along with important amenities that will support the neighborhood,” Carrión added. “We look forward to receiving innovative proposals that will deliver for Long Island City.”

It remains to be seen which developers will put their names forward for the opportunity, but TF Cornerstone seems a likely candidate, as it has already built a large majority of Hunter’s Point South with its mixed-use development Malt Drive.

Malt Drive is on the Newtown Creek waterfront and includes two luxury residential towers, a combined 1,386 residential units, and around 25,000 square feet of storefront retail, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

A spokesperson for TF Cornerstone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The broader Hunter’s Point South project, which was approved in 2008, sits on a formerly industrial area along the East River once considered as a potential site for the Olympic Village in the city’s failed 2012 bid to host the Olympic Games, according to the announcement.

By the time of its completion, the complex is expected to feature approximately 5,000 new homes — approximately 3,000 of which will be affordable — along with commercial retail space, community facility spaces, three new schools and public green spaces, the announcement said.

Proposals are due Sept. 5.

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