Tishman Speyer plans massive LIC office project, looks to raise EB-5 money

Development, which includes a large WeWork space, slated to cost $700M

Rob Speyer and Two Gotham Center
Rob Speyer and Two Gotham Center

Tishman Speyer is soliciting funds for a major 1 million-square-foot office project in Long Island City, according to marketing materials provided to prospective Chinese investors.

The developer has already inked a 258,000-square-foot lease deal with co-working giant WeWork to anchor one of the new buildings, a 30-story tower slated to go up on the corner of Jackson Avenue and Queens Plaza South, according to the materials.

The site is adjacent to Two Gotham Center, a 22-story office building developed by Tishman in 2011 and sold to Canadian investor H&R REIT for $415.5 million that same year.

The new buildings, which will be known as 1 and 3 Gotham Center, would be directly across the street from where Tishman Speyer and H&R are building a three-building, 1,900-unit luxury residential complex.

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A spokesperson for the developer declined to comment. A spokesperson for WeWork was not immediately available.

The firm wants to raise a total $145 million in EB-5 financing for the office project, which is slated to cost $700 million, according to the documents, first spotted by Wall Street Journal reporter Eliot Brown on the website of a Chinese immigration consultant.

The first tower, on 42nd Street Road and Jackson, will rise 29 stories with roughly 583,000 square feet of Class A office space and 20,000 square feet of retail space. Tishman Speyer has already secured a 200,000-square-foot anchor tenant, the marketing materials state. The WeWork-anchored building will comprise 515,000 square feet of office space and 11,000 square feet of leasable retail space.