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<\/p>\nAlmost 1,000 new homes are coming to a long-vacant site in Long Island City.<\/p>\n
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\n New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development\n <\/p>\n
\n The Orion’s site at 54-42 Second St.\n <\/p>\n
The city selected Slate Property Group, The Hudson Cos<\/a>. and nonprofit developer Volunteers of America to develop The Orion, a 980-unit housing development in a western portion of the Queens neighborhood known as Hunter\u2019s Point South, according to a release.<\/p>\n The project is expected to cost between $650M and $700M and is expected to begin construction in \u201cthe next few years,\u201d a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development said.<\/p>\n The units will be spread across three buildings on the 70K SF lot at 54-42 Second St.<\/p>\n Two-thirds of the new apartments would be set aside as affordable housing, the majority of which will be for extremely low- to moderate-income New Yorkers. Approximately 149 of the 658 affordable units will function as supportive housing.<\/p>\n \u201cSolving our affordability crisis will require creative solutions and a roll-up-your sleeves approach to create housing that works for all New Yorkers and allows them to live in dynamic, diverse, and desirable neighborhoods,\u201d Slate Property Group<\/a>\u00a0principal and co-founder David Schwartz<\/a> said in a statement.<\/p>\n The city expects to provide some form of subsidy for the project, which would also make use of the low-income housing tax credit, the HPD spokesperson said. The deal includes the city selling the land to the developers, subject to regulatory approval.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must leave no stone unturned as we seek to increase our city\u2019s housing supply,\u201d Queens Borough President Donovan Richards<\/a> said in a statement. \u201cI am thrilled that this long-vacant lot will be turned into beautiful new homes for hundreds of Queens families.\u201d<\/p>\n \n New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development\n <\/p>\n \n The 54-42 Second St. site of megadevelopment The Orion in Hunter’s Point South, to be developed by Slate and Hudson Cos.\n <\/p>\n The development,\u00a0designed by Manhattan-based, minority-owned\u00a0Marvel Architects, would also include 6K SF of retail space and 9K SF of community offerings\u00a0operated by local nonprofit Commonpoint Queens, including a\u00a0childcare center, a workforce development center and an indoor community pool.<\/p>\n Residents in all three buildings\u00a0would be able to access the project\u2019s amenities, alongside other facilities including rooftop terraces, bike storage and fitness space.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project shows how we can use public land to deliver mixed-use projects that benefit future residents and the surrounding community alike,\u201d Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning\u00a0Leila Bozorg<\/a>\u00a0said in a statement.<\/p>\n The developers have yet to secure financing, but The Orion will be the first project to receive a long-term loan provided under the\u00a0HPD’s\u00a0Mixed Income Market Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Projects that have a roughly 70-30 split for affordable and market-rate units and set aside at least 15% of units for formerly homeless New Yorkers are eligible for the program, which was introduced by then-Mayor\u00a0Eric Adams<\/a>\u00a0in 2023.<\/p>\n The project\u00a0continues Mayor\u00a0Zohran Mamdani<\/a>\u2019s push\u00a0to advance his administration\u2019s ambitious housing agenda, which has set a goal of producing 200,000 new affordable homes and preserving an additional 200,000 homes by 2036.<\/p>\n The NYC Economic Development Corp.\u00a0started\u00a0soliciting applications<\/a>\u00a0this month to develop another city-owned site in East Harlem\u00a0with\u00a0140 apartments at 2453 Second Ave.<\/p>\n The city council is also gradually advancing other major projects proposed by developers to ease the city’s housing affordability crisis, with June rents rising 8% year-over-year in Manhattan and Brooklyn to new record highs<\/a>, according to The Corcoran Group.<\/p>\n Council members voted last week\u00a0to\u00a0approve a rezoning<\/a>\u00a0at Monitor Point, paving the way for\u00a0Gotham Organization<\/a>\u00a0to build 1,324 units.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n