King of Queens: Willets Point Mixed Use Development

(All Images from NYC Economic Development Corporation)

Mayor Bloomberg introduced Willets Point last week – billed as New York City’s next great neighborhood.  Similar to the development around St. Louis’ Busch Stadium dubbed Ballpark Village, Willets Point is an area around Citi Field (Home of the NY Mets) that has been a target for development for several years.  The project is massive and will take nearly 20 years to complete.

(Project Area - Citi Field in Lower Left of Image)

Queens Development Group, a new entity comprised of developers Related Cos. And Sterling Equities will lead the project under and agreement announced with New York CityEconomic Development Corp. 

The project will start with the remediation of 23 acres of contaminated land as a result of auto shops and junkyards that have been home to the area for decades.  The $100 million cost for the clean up, demolition and then infrastructure development is being picked up mostly by the city.  The city controls almost 95% of the land.

Once the clean up is complete (estimated to be at least 2 years) – Phase 1 will begin which will include a one million sf retail and entertainment center that will include more than 200 stores, a movie theater, and restaurants.  Also part of Phase 1 will be a 200 room hotel and 30,000 sf of retail. 

Additional development is slated for 2025 and will include 2,500 mixed-income housing units, 900,000 sf more retail space, 500,000 sf of offices and another 280 hotel rooms.

The developers have also proposed a recreation area that will include athletic fields and an ice skating rink.  A convention center is also planned for the site.

When completed, Willets Point will be a $3 billion investment boasting 5 million total sf of development and will employ 12,000 construction jobs and 7,100 permanent jobs.

Here are some related articles:

Bloomberg:  Related, Wilpon Agree with NYC on PlanFor Willets Point

New York Daily News:  Willet Point Development Plans Unveiled

And for all the information regarding the project – see:

New York City Economic Development Corp:  Willets Point Redevelopment


Another mega project that will be interesting to watch.  Although the city controls most of the property, you can bet "sealing the deal" will still take quite an effort.