Kathy Hochul Plans 2,800 Homes at Creedmoor

Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled plans Wednesday to build more than 2,800 homes in eastern Queens.

The project will be built on 58 acres of underutilized land at the state-owned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, taking the place of vacant land, buildings and parking lots.

More than half of the homes — 1,633 — will be for-sale cooperative units, two-story homes and townhome triplexes. The first phase of the project will consist of co-op units reserved for shareholders earning up to 100 percent of the area median income.

The remaining 1,240 homes will be rental units, with 808 of the apartments reserved as supportive and senior housing, according to a master plan of the proposal released Wednesday night.

The state is expected to begin an environmental review of the plan next year and to draft a general project plan laying out the redevelopment. A request for proposals will be issued seeking developers to build the project out in phases.

The project is part of a series of actions taken by Hochul after her broader housing plan failed to move forward during the legislative session. The actions have included offering financial incentives to communities that show a commitment to housing growth and an alternative 421a program in Gowanus.

Her administration has also initiated housing projects on state-owned land. On Tuesday, the state tapped L+M Development Partners, Urbane and Lemor Development Group to build a 105-unit affordable housing project at the former Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem, according to Crain’s.

Creedmoor opened in 1912 as a satellite facility of Brooklyn State Hospital. It got its start as a psychiatric “farm colony” where patients took part in daily farm work as part of a therapy regimen.

The campus spans 125 acres. Most of its buildings, 19 out of 25, are vacant. If the governor’s plan moves forward, various state-led agencies will continue to provide services to patients on the remaining 67 acres at Creedmoor.