And while the prices sound steep for Queens, they align with market demand. After a light sales year in 2010, data from Prudential Douglas Elliman’s 2011 first quarter report show that the number of condo sales has jumped 62% borough-wide, up 794 units from last year. The Q1 report also notes that prices for new developments edged higher, as did one-to-three family homes. But it was the luxury market that showed the most strength in Q1, averaging at $800,000 for a luxury property, which continued to inch up to close to $1 million in the fifth Q1 quintile.

In northwest Queens, which includes Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside and Woodside, the total number of sales dipped slightly from 199 sales in Q1 2010 to 193 sales in Q1 2011, but at the same time, price indicators edged up, according to the Prudential Douglas Elliman report. Median sales prices rose by 10.9% to $475,000 in the four neighborhoods.

With new developments expected to bring 50,000 residents to Long Island City in the coming years according to the NYCEDC, more retail is soon to follow. King says as the density increases in the neighborhood, the core business districts and surrounding areas will have more shopping options. Currently, Jackson Avenue serves as the main thoroughfare. “When the rezoning went into place and the first projects were built, it was all commercial office space,” he says, describing that little consideration was given to retail because of the area’s largely industrial nature. King adds that other services, such as institutions and schools, are likely to appear as momentum builds.

Businesses and schools are helping to speed the process along. Suna says that CUNY Law School has purchased 6-floors in Two Court Square adjacent to the Citigroup tower. JetBlue is also moving their world headquarters just a few blocks away to 27-01 Queens Plaza North, in a move to consolidate their Darien, CT and Forest Hills, NY operations.

However, King says construction in Long Island City is “challenged” due to a lack of available space, but notes that developers may find unique opportunities to re-use existing infrastructure or simply start from scratch. “This is a mature area, meaning there is not a lot of vacant land,” he says. “Anyone wanting to come in and put up a supermarket would have to do an assemblage of three or four adjacent properties, or find one big footprint and either demolish it or dramatically modify a former warehouse or factory building.”

On the office front, average asking rents for office space in Long Island City are in the mid-30s per square foot, King estimates. With a total number of 116 buildings, Long Island City has 5.4-million square feet of available space and a 5% vacancy rate, according to data from the NYCEDC. “As more and more companies move in, pricing is always a function of supply and demand,” King says. “The demand has always been strong, and as the supply shrinks, that’s when the prices go up.”