Property Markets Group and the Hakim Organization are planning the city’s tallest skyscraper outside Manhattan, and new renderings offer a closer look at the 914-foot-tall building, dubbed Queens Plaza Park.
The 800-unit, 900,000-square-foot residential tower is slated to soar more than 70 stories in Long Island City, where it will encircle and incorporate the 88-year-old Manhattan Bank Building – which PMG and Hakim acquired for $31 million in November.
The 17,000-square-foot project site, positioned near transit-accessible Queens Plaza, was previously planned to house a 16-story Starwood Aloft Hotel, according to 6sqft. But the hotel’s developers went bankrupt during the economic downturn and developer Steve Cheung purchased the property for $8.3 million in 2011.
Rendering of Queens Plaza Park in Long Island City (credit: SLCE Architects)
Rendering of Queens Plaza Park in Long Island City (credit: SLCE Architects)
Cheung then proposed a 30-story, 205,000-square-foot condo tower on the site before opting to sell it to PMG and Hakim for $46.3 million – almost six times his original investment. The developers proceeded to amass 478,000 square feet of development rights through a $56 million transfer deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The SLCE Architects-designed Queens Plaza Park, slated for completion in 2019, is one of nearly a dozen skyscrapers taller than 500 feet planned for Long Island City. At least two of those projects look to surpass the 658-foot-tall One Court Square, currently the city’s tallest building outside Manhattan. [6sqft] – Rey Mashayekhi