LIC Hotel Skyscraper May Become Low-Rise Apartments Instead

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A hotel skyscraper planned for an empty Long Island City lot may have been scuttled by the city's new limits on hotel construction — and a developer is now planning a low-rise apartment building on the site instead, according to newly submitted plans.

The site in question, at 24-11 Jackson Ave., covers a chunk of the triangular block also bounded by 45th Avenue and 23rd Street — facing the Court Square subway station, and across the street from the Court Square Diner.

Previously, the site had been slated to become a 50-story hotel run by the Japanese company Toyoko Inn. Last month, however, The Real Deal reported that Tokoyo Inn was looking to sell the site due to a city rule approved last fall that requires special approval for new hotels built around the five boroughs.

The newly revealed building at 24-11 Jackson Ave. will stand only seven stories and 96 feet tall, containing 54 apartments, according to plans submitted to the city on Friday.

Now, the listed owner is developer Sam Charney, whose company is at work building a separate 50-story tower on the north end of the same block. Formerly home to a slew of low-rise rowhouses, the block was cleared in recent years to make way for both projects.

The seven-story building will be designed by Fogarty Finger — the same architects designing Charney's adjacent tower.

Toyoko Inn had reportedly been seeking $60 million for the site, but it is unclear when Charney purchased it, as a deal does not appear in city records. Charney did not immediately respond to an email requesting details.

Apartments in the new building will average out to about 1,040 square feet each, plus 5,100 square feet of commercial space. Notably, the plans do not touch the modest three-story building at 24-29 Jackson Ave., whose owner, mechanic Joe Nastasi, has refused multimillion-dollar offers to sell his property to Charney, according to the New York Times.

Backed by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, the controversial Hotels Text Amendment passed the City Council in December. It requires the City Planning Commission to sign off on any new hotel proposed for anywhere in the city, regardless of zoning — with a few exceptions.

It was supported by a major hotel workers' union, but opponents warned it could stifle tourism and hinder New York's pandemic recovery.