Two More Luxe Condo Buildings Planned For Long Island City

By: Neille IlelVIEWED 96 TIMES

Published: 5/19/2005Source: Queens Chronicle

With two more luxury condominiums joining the fray in Long Island City, it seems the once industrial and manufacturing hub on the western edge of Queens is quickly taking its place as the next city hot spot for real estate developers hoping to make a mint.
In the wake of the transformation of the old Schwartz Chemical Building, the iconic flatiron-style Eagle Electric building at the corner of Thomson Avenue and Court Square similarly will be converted into high-end living spaces. A few blocks away, in the shadow of the Riverview tower, an old warehouse on the corner of 5th Street and 49th Avenue was torn down and a condominium structure will be built in its place.

   “The demand is much, much higher than the supply right now,” said Valerie Dominguez, a real estate agent with Corcoran Group. She expects that the units in the new developments will go fast, at prices anywhere from $600 to $800 a square-foot.
   Developers Alex and Andrew Silverman bought Eagle Electric Building Number 8, which was being used as a warehouse at the time, for $52.2 million in January. They are investing $75 million to renovate it into 238 luxury apartments with amenities such as walk-in closets, terraces, a gym, swimming pool and parking garage. There will not be any low- or middle-income housing.
   A spokesperson for the developers said beyond the amenities, what’s really special about the units are their size. Ceiling heights will be between 14 and 18 feet and the size of a one-bedroom will equal that of a two-bedroom in Manhattan. And the views, he added are spectacular. “Even on the second floor, you have views that go on forever.” They are anticipating the type of buyer who is priced out of Manhattan but still wants the features that are standard across the river.
   Dominguez said that all this planned development has been a boon to property prices in the Citylights building on the waterfront. Two-bedroom apartments that were selling for $375,000 last year are now going for $550,000. “That’s a really big jump,” she said.
   But not everyone is thrilled with the way the neighborhood is changing from its industrial roots to a tony midtown outpost. “Long Island City was the 15th largest manufacturing district in the country,” said Jeffrey Kroessler, an urban historian of the area. “That’s bigger than some cities.”
   While he applauds the developers’ intent to preserve the facade of the Eagle Electric building, he’s also troubled by the way manufacturing jobs, and the types of people they employ, have been pushed aside. “I think the city loses. These were good jobs. The city loses a vibrant middle and working class.”
   Since the success of the transformation of Soho in downtown Manhattan in the past several decades, he believes the city has applied this type of development plan to all the city’s industrial districts.
   Paul Parkhill, director of Place in History, a non-profit community planning organization, also pointed out that light industry jobs allow wage workers to make more money than the retail and service industry jobs that replace them. “Overall, it drives down the level of pay,” he said of the citywide loss of industrial jobs.
   Construction will start on the building on 49th Avenue this week. Although it could not be confirmed by the owners, rumors are the structure will be a “boutique” condo development of seven stories.