Durst plans massive LIC rental project on Clock Tower site

Tower would be one of neighborhood's largest

Rendering of 29-55 Northern Boulevard and Douglas Durst (Credit: CityRealty and Getty Images)
Rendering of 29-55 Northern Boulevard and Douglas Durst (Credit: CityRealty and Getty Images)

The Durst Organization is moving forward with yet another rental project in Queens: a 63-story building on the former Clock Tower site.

The developer filed plans on Friday for a nearly 1-million-square-foot mixed-use project at 29-55 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City, documents filed with the New York City Department of Buildings show. The tower will include 763 rental units across 786,355 square feet and 8,702 square feet of commercial space. According to DOB records, the project looks to be one of the largest residential projects in Queens by unit count. According to the permit application, the third floor of the building will have retail space and unspecified residential amenities.

The third floor of the building will have retail space and unspecified residential amenities, according to the permit application. Michael Arad, of Handel Architects, is listed as the tower’s architect of record.

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Representatives for the developer weren’t immediately available to discuss the project.

In some ways, the proposed project is similar to what the site’s previous owners planned for the site — a 66-story building with 800 units. The former owners, Property Markets Group and Hakim Organization, however, planned to build a mix of condos and rentals. The developers scrapped those plans last summer and began marketing the property with HFF.

Durst paid $175 million for the site last year, The Real Deal reported at the time. The developer has been very busy in the borough, especially along Astoria’s waterfront. In April, Durst filed plans for two more mixed-used buildings at its Hallets Point development along the Queens waterfront. The $1.5 billion development is expected to eventually feature 2,400 apartments across seven buildings. The company has also had its eye on two waterfront sites in Long Island City where the city is seeking office and residential development. The two sites span a total of 1.2 million square feet.