City Narrows Field for Flushing Development

FLUSHING, NY-The New York City Economic Development Corp. has selected three proposals as finalists for development of Municipal Lot 1 in the Downtown area here. The EDC, which issued a Request for Proposals for the five-acre site a little more than a year ago, asked the undisclosed finalists to further refine their proposals. A framework for Flushing calls for improved transportation facilities and a connection to the waterfront. To realize the plan, which encompasses the Downtown area, the Flushing River waterfront and Willets Point peninsula, could cost upwards of $265 million, excluding land amounts.

Each has proposed hundreds of housing units, a business-class hotel that will create hundreds of new jobs and attract spending from outside the local community, and significant space for community uses, including active youth recreation and cultural tenants.

In total, the EDC received 13 proposals from a group of national and international developers and architects. “Redevelopment of this site is a key component of the Development Framework for Downtown Flushing,” says EDC president Andrew Alper. The city has earmarked funds for strategic capital projects identified in the framework, including pedestrian walkways, streetscape and traffic improvements.