Much Of Astoria Block Faces Demolition For New Apartments

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A large chunk of an industrial block on the eastern edge of Astoria will soon be cleared to make way for a new residential building, city records show.

Developer Silverstein Properties filed plans Tuesday to tear down five buildings above Northern Boulevard between 44th and 45th streets. The block was formerly home to a car dealership, an auto body shop and garages, as well as a six-story apartment building that is not affected by the project.

Those businesses have since closed, and were surrounded by construction fencing when Patch stopped by on Wednesday. The lot, at 44-01 Northern Blvd., was rezoned in 2019 to convert its use from industrial to residential.

Manhattan-based Silverstein purchased the lot for $40 million last fall, and quickly announced plans to construct an apartment building on the site. Permits for that 13-story, 354-unit building were filed last fall, with plans reportedly including nearly 100 affordable apartments.

This site is just a few blocks away from the five-block area that Silverstein is seeking to rezone in order to construct a 12-building complex with residences, offices and cultural space. That project, known as Innovation QNS, is a joint effort between Silverstein, Kaufman Astoria Studios and BedRock Real Estate Partners, and is still in the early stages of its monthslong review process.

The new building on the Northern Boulevard site will stand 145 feet tall, designed by the architecture firm Hill West. It will include 95 apartments considered affordable to people making 60 percent of the area median income, Silverstein told the Queens Post in 2020.

Silverstein purchased most of those five blocks in early 2019.