All renderings by ODA Architecture (Renderings and diagrams are based upon preliminary iterations of the design and do not reflect the final approved design)
The project, a massive $2 billion development in the borough of Queens is known as Innovation Queens (QNS) , and will span five city blocks and add more than 3,000 homes in community of Astoria.
Spanning from 37th Street to Northern Boulevard/43rd Street between 35th and 36th Avenues, Innovation QNS will expand the adjacent Kaufman Arts District and build on Astoria’s rich cultural fabric including its existing cultural assets like the Museum of Moving Image and Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. The site currently is occupied primarily by large surface parking lots, underutilized industrial/commercial buildings and vacant spaces.
Centered on five blocks at the intersection of Steinway Street and 35th Avenue, the plan includes more than 2,800 units of mixed income housing – over 700 of which will be permanently affordable – as well as 200,000 square-feet of neighborhood-serving retail and 250,000 square-feet of space for the city’s creative industries and other small businesses.
The plan also includes nearly two acres of thoughtfully programmed open space, community health and wellness facilities, an arts and culture hub, a state-of-the-art multiplex cinema, a new full-service grocery store and enhanced streetscapes.
Today, the southern end of Steinway Street is dominated by parking lots, underutilized industrial and commercial buildings, and vacant spaces.
Nearly five years of dialogue with neighborhood civic leaders, cultural institutions, small businesses, non-profits and residents has resulted in a vision for an inclusive, neighborhood-focused, mixed-use creative district that builds on Astoria’s rich cultural fabric and will deliver meaningful economic opportunity at a critical time.
Innovation QNS will soon reactivate this corner of Astoria as a bustling hub of activity by expanding the neighboring Kaufman Arts District and building on existing cultural assets like the Museum of the Moving Image and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts with:
- Two acres of open space – more than 25% of the project site – with lawns, performance space, a playground and a dog park, as well as enhanced streetscapes and hundreds of new trees;
- A community hub that will provide a new home for long-time community-serving nonprofit organizations;
- 200,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving shops, restaurants and entertainment that complement existing small businesses, including a new state-of-the-art cinema; and
- Over 3,000 mixed-income homes, including 1,400 permanently affordable homes – more than 500 of which will be available at the most deeply affordable “extremely low-income” band (30% AMI).
Additionally, the Innovation QNS team has committed to:
- Contribute $2 million to a community fund to support tenants rights, anti-displacement, and other services for nearby residents;
- Offer discounted rents to small businesses and non-profit organizations;
- Conduct a multi-lingual campaign to advertise affordable homes and provide application assistance to the local immigrant community;
- Target 30% local hiring and MWBE participation;
- Agreements with 32BJ SEIU, Laborers’ Local 79 and District Council 9 (DC 9) of Painters and Finishers; and
- Study and, if feasible, implement the use of on-site geothermal energy.
