Michael Meyer, president, F&T Group was similarly optimistic. “We have a good to three years of runway left. We still have a lot of growth to go; there's a lot of development in the pipeline.”

He expects Queens to benefit from the hotel boom—particularly in certain sections. “We'll go up in Flushing. The market there is driven by overseas demand, plus we're near LaGuardia Airport so we get a lot of business from that. There's been a proliferation of boutique properties around Queens but the flight crews that stay overnight at a hotel would rather be in Flushing where they can walk around and go to karaoke.”

Others see the borough making strides on the residential front. “While the economic cycle is peaking, in Long Island City, it's just beginning; especially in the Court Square area,” noted Patricia Dunphy, SVP, Rockrose Development. “When apartments come on the market, they rent immediately.”

Noted David Brickman, VP, Onex Real Estate Partners, “At our Sky View Parc project in Flushing, “We're building 700 apartments that we started selling about a year ago and we're seeing unprecedented absorption. About 350 have sold, and this is pre-sale.”

With an eye on the future, Lincoln Equities president Joel Bergstein asserted, “We just broke ground on a site in Astoria and the community has a lot of infrastructure so we're optimistic that when we deliver the first building in about 18 months, the market will still be there.”

However, he admitted, “Some landlords are offering concessions now while maintaining their base rents so we're keeping an eye on that.”

In fact, the borough is not without its issues, the panelists noted, chief among them being woefully inadequate transportation. Many real estate professionals working in Queens are hopeful over the BQX, Mayor Bill de Blasio's recent proposal for a street car—much like a light-rail system—that would connect the waterfront areas from Red Hook, Brooklyn all the way to Astoria, Queens.

“It opens the movement of people from certain parts of Brooklyn and Queens to jobs that will open up because of the light rail and brings them to residential housing that likely will sprout up on that route,” said Grech.

“It's also the first cog of other linkages that could be built,” he added. “We're under served when it comes to transit and the expense of making changes to the subway system is so exorbitant that it doesn't seem feasible and practical. Buses and ferries may be part of the solution but this transit thing has legs.”

NEW YORK CITY—Though Queens is filled with unique areas that each have their own character—along with varying degrees of appeal for real estate developers and investors—there's one thing they have in common: potential.

In a panel discussion on the borough, hosted by CREW New York during its monthly luncheon in Midtown earlier this week, real estate industry experts on Flushing, Astoria, Long Island City and more brought the strengths of their communities to light. At the same time, the group also talked about what's needed to make already hot areas soar as well as the steps that could put other sections of Queens on the map.

“Queens is in the second inning,” declared Thomas Grech, executive director, Queens Chamber of Commerce. “There are untapped areas, like the incredible stretch from the Jamaica station of the Long Island Rail Road to John F. Kennedy Airport, which is relatively undeveloped.”

He continued, “There's warehouse after warehouse there and that can be tapped for new uses, especial residential and commercial development. Also, there are plans for 47 hotels across the borough.”

Michael Meyer, president, F&T Group was similarly optimistic. “We have a good to three years of runway left. We still have a lot of growth to go; there's a lot of development in the pipeline.”

He expects Queens to benefit from the hotel boom—particularly in certain sections. “We'll go up in Flushing. The market there is driven by overseas demand, plus we're near LaGuardia Airport so we get a lot of business from that. There's been a proliferation of boutique properties around Queens but the flight crews that stay overnight at a hotel would rather be in Flushing where they can walk around and go to karaoke.”

Others see the borough making strides on the residential front. “While the economic cycle is peaking, in Long Island City, it's just beginning; especially in the Court Square area,” noted Patricia Dunphy, SVP, Rockrose Development. “When apartments come on the market, they rent immediately.”

Noted David Brickman, VP, Onex Real Estate Partners, “At our Sky View Parc project in Flushing, “We're building 700 apartments that we started selling about a year ago and we're seeing unprecedented absorption. About 350 have sold, and this is pre-sale.”

With an eye on the future, Lincoln Equities president Joel Bergstein asserted, “We just broke ground on a site in Astoria and the community has a lot of infrastructure so we're optimistic that when we deliver the first building in about 18 months, the market will still be there.”

However, he admitted, “Some landlords are offering concessions now while maintaining their base rents so we're keeping an eye on that.”

In fact, the borough is not without its issues, the panelists noted, chief among them being woefully inadequate transportation. Many real estate professionals working in Queens are hopeful over the BQX, Mayor Bill de Blasio's recent proposal for a street car—much like a light-rail system—that would connect the waterfront areas from Red Hook, Brooklyn all the way to Astoria, Queens.

“It opens the movement of people from certain parts of Brooklyn and Queens to jobs that will open up because of the light rail and brings them to residential housing that likely will sprout up on that route,” said Grech.

“It's also the first cog of other linkages that could be built,” he added. “We're under served when it comes to transit and the expense of making changes to the subway system is so exorbitant that it doesn't seem feasible and practical. Buses and ferries may be part of the solution but this transit thing has legs.”