Silverstein, Kaufman plan $2B Queens development

A team of developers is planning a $2 billion, 2.7 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Astoria.

Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silverstein Properties and Bedrock Real Estate Partners unveiled their plans Wednesday for the Queens megaproject, which they’re calling “Innovation QNS.”

The development will cover five blocks at the intersection of Steinway Street and 35th Avenue and will include 2,700 units of mixed-income housing, the developers announced. Of those units, 700 will be set aside as affordable housing. The project will also have 200,000 square feet of retail and 250,000 square feet of space set aside for what the developers called the city’s creative industries and other small businesses.

“This is a time when people desperately need jobs, and this project will serve as an enormously important stimulus for Astoria and New York City,” Silverstein Properties chairman Larry Silverstein said.

The development will also include 2 acres of open space, a movie theater, a grocery store, community health facilities and dedicated senior housing.

Architecture firm ODA designed the project.

Silverstein has spent the past two years assembling parcels at the development site, which is zoned for low-density manufacturing, meaning the development team will need a rezoning to move forward with their plans.

The developers said they plan to begin the city’s public review process next year, with construction slated to kick off in 2023 and the first phase slated to open two years later.

Contact Rich Bockmann at rb@therealdeal.com or 908-415-5229.