Omni New York envisions big mixed-use project in Jamaica

Project would be 23 stories tall and include 389 apartments

92-23 168th Street (Credit: Google Maps)
92-23 168th Street (Credit: Google Maps)

Could Jamaica finally be having a moment?

Another large-scale development could be on its way to the Queens neighborhood, and this one would pack nearly 400 apartments over 330,000 square feet.

Omni New York, a firm founded by Eugene Schneur and former New York Mets first baseman Mo Vaughn, filed plans with the Department of Buildings on Tuesday to build a 23-story mixed use project in Jamaica at 92-23 168th Street.

In all, the mixed-use building would span 412,862 square feet. Filings show 389 affordable apartment units over 333,276 square feet, with 61,000 square feet set aside for retail, and 19,000 square feet dedicated for the community.

The EDC tapped Omni to develop the city-owned land through an RFP process it launched in 2015. The site, which is across the street from a Home Depot, contains a two-story parking garage and a small vacant office space, property records show. The NYPD currently uses the garage, and the new project would also include space for officers to park, according to the city.

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Transit-rich Jamaica hasn’t seen as much development activity as some other Queens neighborhoods in recent years, but a few sizable projects are in the pipeline. BRP Properties’ $400 million Jamaica Station development, which features 670 affordable apartments across two towers, received crucial financing earlier this year.

And in December, the Chetrit Group landed a $127.5 million loan to redevelop the shuttered Mary Immaculate Hospital. It’s planning a four-building, 324-unit apartment complex.

Other recent deals in Jamaica include Madison Realty Capital’s and Artemis Real Estate Partners’ $78 million purchase of industrial properties at 184-10 and 184-60 Jamaica Avenue and hotel developer Manny Chadha’s plan to convert a car wash at 165-20 Archer Avenue into a Holiday Inn Express with 206 rooms.

(To view more new development projects in Jamaica, click here)