Court Square Skyscraper, Astoria Apartment Tower: Development Roundup

ASTORIA, QUEENS — It can be hard to keep up with all the new construction happening across Northwest Queens, and the past week has been an especially eventful one, with a flurry of new plans being filed for notable neighborhood projects.

Here's a roundup of the newly filed projects, including a skyscraper near Court Square, apartments on a long-empty Astoria lot, and new steps forward for the Halletts North complex and the Variety Boys & Girls Club's new headquarters.

24-11 Jackson Ave.: Court Square skyscraper

This long-empty site next to the Court Square subway station is set to be redeveloped into a 54-story, 617-foot-tall apartment tower, according to plans filed with the city last week by developer Sam Charney.

A big chunk of the triangular block was purchased for $68.3 million in July by the Manhattan-based company Tavros Capital, which is reportedly working with Charney on the development. The previous owner, Japanese company Tokoyo Inn, had intended to build a 50-story hotel on the block — but those plans were reportedly dropped after the city mostly banned the construction of new hotels last year.

The new tower, on a block bounded by 45th Avenue and 23rd Street, would contain 310 apartments as well as 112,000 square feet of commercial space, the plans show. The latest project was first rumored in August, apparently replacing previous plans for a much shorter, seven-story building that Charney had filed in February.

It will be designed by FXCollaborative, a Brooklyn-based firm whose other projects include high-rise towers across Manhattan and the upcoming Penn Station renovations.

Charney did not respond to questions about when construction would begin. His company also owns another site on the block's north side, which will form part of the footprint of the new development, according to the Queens Post's August report.

31-16 21st St.: apartments on long-empty Astoria lot

Over in Astoria, an empty lot on 21st Street and 31st Road that has sat empty for years will become home to a seven-story apartment building, according to plans filed Tuesday by developer Yong Chen.

The lot, at 31-16 21st St., has been empty since at least 2007, according to Google Maps imagery. After being listed for sale in January, it was purchased for $10.3 million in June by Yong's firm, FBL Development.

Standing 80 feet tall, the new building will contain 52 apartments as well as a private, 26-car garage, according to the plans. The architects, Angelo Ng and Anthony Ng, have designed other residential buildings across Queens and Brooklyn.

Halletts North; Boys & Girls Club

Two already-announced Astoria developments were also formalized with new building permits this week: the big Halletts North complex, and the Variety Boys & Girls Club's new headquarters.

Weeks after Halletts North's rezoning won approval from the City Council thanks to the support of Astoria's City Council member, the still-unidentified developers filed plans Thursday for what appears to be just a portion of the three-tower, 1,340-unit development on the north side of the Halletts Point peninsula.

The new plans are for the development's tallest building, the 350-foot-tall tower containing 484 apartments. Once built, the entire complex will include roughly 335 affordable apartments, plus a waterfront promenade, retail and space for local nonprofits.

Variety, meanwhile, appears to be moving forward with the 14-story expansion of its longtime home on 21st Street near 30th Road, filing plans for the new building this week.

Besides a new headquarters for the club, it will contain 229 affordable and supportive housing units, offices, recreation space and even a planetarium, the nonprofit announced in September. It's unclear when work would begin, as Variety said then that it remained in the "design phase."

Related coverage:

• Astoria Councilmember OKs Three-Tower Halletts North Rezoning
• LIC Hotel Skyscraper May Become Low-Rise Apartments Instead
  
• New Astoria Boys & Girls Club, Socrates Park Buildings Are Revealed