Friday night was a typically perfect early fall evening on the waterfront. As luck would have it, the Silent Disco was held. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the initiator and promoter, Jimmy Van Schrager, throngs of locals turned out and the event was a stellar success. In fact, I could not help but think that the President of Lincoln Center, Jed Bernstein, who kicked off the party, would have sincerely liked to have held their whole series of silent discos right in that location. There’s no hyperbole in that statement folks. Between the great weather, the setting sun, the water, the kids playing on the oval, and the backdrop of midtown, I genuinely believe Jed was having an epiphany on that stage: ‘I didn’t know such a place existed, and in Queens no less. This is nirvana!’
And then we all woke up the next morning to find …the reality of the Long Island City real estate news. First off, come Monday scaffolding was erected around the parking lot of the most heavily trafficked residential block in LIC, Vernon Boulevard and 50th Avenue. Goodbye well known empty lot, hello five stories of new apartments and ground floor retail. No surprise there, it was only a matter of when.
Then I received two press releases in the last week. One stating that QLIC over by Queensboro Plaza had topped out at 21 stories of amenity-filled bliss, and they expect its 421 units to welcome residents beginning in early 2015. Not noted in the release was the best amenity of all: Scandals is two doors down. Ok, despite that last tidbit which I had to provide, this is a typical non-event real estate p.r. puff piece. A little more interesting was the one telling me that TF Cornerstone has completely leased out their last Center Boulevard building, and it took all of five months to do so. For comparison sakes, last month Rockrose announced it took just over a year to finally lease out the 709 units in Linc LIC . What does that tell me? Exactly what it told Jed Bernstein on Friday night: Queens is on the rise, LIC is awesome, and there is place better to be in LIC than living on the waterfront.
Therefore I am making the following prediction. By the end of 2015, rents on Center Boulevard will surpass those in Manhattan. You find that statement dubious? Then here’s the rest of the local real estate news to buttress my prediction, all from the past week.
Living in LIC: The Manhattan Suburb with a Three Minute Commute – “The middle of Midtown Manhattan is two minutes and 35 seconds away at Grand Central Station. If you walk down to the water, there’s a breeze and space and baby carriages. You want to lie down in the grass, and if you do, there’s no one lying next to you. It’s crazy. Your entire life could exist in Manhattan, and two minutes later, you could feel like you’re down in South Beach before it was developed.”
Manhattan’s Rent Gains Send Queens Leasing Deals Surging – “Apartment leasing in New York’s Brooklyn and Queens boroughs surged in August as newly built units offered options to tenants seeking relief from Manhattan rents close to records. New lease signings increased 72 percent from a year earlier in Brooklyn and more than quadrupled in Queens”
Manhattan and Brooklyn Renters Catch a Break as Prices Dip – “Queens renters weren’t so lucky. The median rent there actually jumped by 5.4% in August to $2,788”
Old, New Buildings Draw Crowds to Dutch Kills – Over the past 18 months, office rents at the Silks building have climbed from $18 a square foot to $28
Big LIC Landlord May Cash in Some Chips – Amid a flurry of leasing and investment activity in Long Island City’s office market, one of the area’s big commercial landlords has decided to capitalize on the neighborhood’s rising popularity
Real Estate Firm Hopes to Bring More Offices, Companies to Queens – Long Island City-based Modern Spaces has launched a new commercial real estate arm, hoping to make Queens more of a destination for businesses
Long Island City Revolution – Don’t look Brooklyn, but Long Island City may just be The Next Big Thing. Bisnow is holding their LIC Real Estate Summit the morning of September 23. Click thru here for details.
Silent Discos Taking NYC by Storm – or maybe just stop at the LIC Waterfront?
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