L+M joins Innovation QNS team

The development team behind Innovation QNS is bringing on another partner for the $2 billion project. 

L+M Development Partners is joining BedRock Real Estate Partners, Kaufman Astoria Studios, and Silverstein Properties in building the 3,200-unit development in Astoria. 

The developers are working on underwriting the first phase of the development. BedRock indicated that the firm is joining to help with both the affordable and market rate units for the entire project, but did not provide information on L+M’s stake in the development. 

“We are thrilled to have them,” BedRock co-founder Tracey Appelbaum said in a statement.  “They bring a lot of expertise to the table.”

L+M declined to comment. 

The fate of the project was imperiled by the expiration of the property tax break 421a in June 2022. While Innovation QNS does not qualify for the old tax exemption, the project can receive its successor, dubbed 485x.

Nearly half of the project’s planned apartments will be set below market rate, with more than 25 percent for those earning less than 50 percent of the area median income. The project is subject to some wage requirements — citywide, projects with 100 units or more must pay construction workers a minimum of $40 per hour for wages and benefits in order to qualify for 485x.

The project site is bounded by 35th Avenue, 43rd Street, Northern Boulevard, 36th Avenue and 37th Street. The development will include 1,436 permanently affordable apartments, as well as 142 supportive housing units and 157 for recipients of the city’s anti-homelessness vouchers. 

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Though the financials around L+M’s joining the project were not immediately clear, it makes sense that the team would want a seasoned affordable housing developer to join, given the project’s scale and affordability levels, not to mention the need to navigate a new property tax break program. L+M is one of the most active affordable housing developers in the city. The firm is building a 499-unit rental project in Long Island City with Vorea Group, Domain Companies and Bridge Investment Group.