A year ago, YIMBY reported on permits for a mixed-use development at the northern edge of Jamaica, on a bustling swath of Hillside Avenue upzoned by the city in 2007. Despite the rezoning, the upzoned piece of downtown Jamaica didn’t see much market-rate development until recently. But construction is beginning to pick up again in the eastern Queens neighborhood, and we have renderings for that sizable project at 148-46 Hillside Avenue in Jamaica.
Two buildings, one commercial, one residential, will rise on a through-block site halfway between two F train stops at Sutphin and Parsons Boulevards. A five-story building with 8,850 square feet of retail and 7,037 square feet of community facility space will rise on the Hillside Avenue half of the lot. The first two floors will have retail, followed by a community center and medical offices on the top three stories.
148-46 Hillside Avenue, rendering by Raymond Chan Architects
The southern half of the property will hold an eight-story, 120-unit apartment building at 148-33 88th Avenue. Units will be spread across 99,426 square feet of space, for average apartments of 828 square feet.
A garage with room for 60 cars will occupy the cellar, with exactly enough parking to satisfy city zoning codes. It seems unnecessarily expensive to force a developer to build this much parking in an area where residents can easily walk to four subway stops and the Long Island Railroad. And the builder will likely pass that cost onto renters.
The residential building looks fairly upscale for Jamaica. Several apartments will have large balconies, and there will be a large landscaped roof deck and shared penthouse.
Flushing-based Century Development Group, headed by George Xu, is developing the project. They’re behind several Queens projects, including hotels in Woodside and Flushing, a residential development in Long Island City, and a small apartment building on Hart Street in Bushwick. They’ve once again tapped Raymond Chan, also based in Flushing, to handle the design.
The Department of Buildings hasn’t approved plans yet, but the developer’s website predicts that construction will wrap in 2017.
148-46 Hillside will join several other small to moderately sized apartment buildings planned along Hillside Avenue, like the 127-unit development planned near the 179th Street F stop.
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I am a 56 yet old woman on ssi living in public housing wanting to live back in Jamaica queens. How can I apply for these new developments?