119 Apartments Coming To Astoria Waterfront, Replacing Old Warehouse

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Months after one of the last undeveloped slices of the Astoria waterfront was sold to a private developer, new plans show what will be built there: a nine-story apartment tower.

The new building at 30-55 Vernon Blvd., spanning a full block from 30th Drive to 30th Road, will replace the run-down, two-story brick warehouse that was sold for $25 million in August to the company Sunlight Development.

The sale, it seemed, could not have come soon enough: the aging warehouse began collapsing onto the street in January, sending bricks falling to the sidewalk and prompting a vacate order from the Department of Buildings, according to city records.

Listed owner Vicki Saali filed plans for the new tower on Wednesday, records show. It will contain 119 apartments, plus roughly 1,200 square foot of commercial space and a 4,500-square-foot community facility.

A real estate broker said in August that the apartments would likely be condominiums.

No demolition plans have been filed yet for the existing building, a few streets up from Socrates Sculpture Park. The small structure is wedged between two other new developments: Astoria West to its south, and The Pillar a block north.

Once complete, the new building will be the latest addition to the rapidly-developing Astoria waterfront: a once-industrial area now lined with glassy apartment buildings.

Related coverage: Run-Down Astoria Waterfront Warehouse To Become Condo Tower