There are 86,000 people on the sidewalks of Downtown Jamaica every day. On top of that, 200,000 come to Jamaica on the LIRR; 16,000 board the AirTrain in Jamaica to JFK International Airport; 46,000 board the subways here; 49 MTA bus lines deposit riders here; and 15,000 cars pass down Jamaica Avenue every day.
Train
Foot Traffic
Station
New housing has been popping up all over Downtown from The Dermot Group’s sleek MODA apartment complex with 346 units and more than 50,000 SF of retail space (including an Associated Supermarket, and CityRib Restaurant). Yorkside Towers added another 180 apartments and recently completed Park Haven Apartments has 102 units. The Bluestone Organization is opening Norman Towers, a nine-story, twin tower mixed-use building with 101 residential units, office and retail space. Housing is just part of the story; Blumenfeld Development Group is building a new 180,000 SF retail complex, and we still have 4,320,000 SF available for development in the Station Area.
New hotels are checking in: Able Management Group’s new hotel development project on Sutphin Boulevard will have 240 rooms, a full-service restaurant and 10,000 SF of retail space. There’s a 155-room hotel with a theme restaurant being planned. All of these will be just steps away from the sleek glass tower of our existing JFK AirTrain, and LIRR Jamaica Station.
Inside one of the apartments at MODA
The bar at City Rib
Yorkside Towers
Norman Towers
MODA
The Crossing at Jamaica Center
Hilton Garden Inn
168th Street Retail Anchor
New storefronts along Jamaica Avenue include big\national brands: The Gap Factory Store, Old Navy, Foot Locker, Marshall's, Nine West, and Modell’s. And more are coming! But there is demand for more retail and an insatiable hunger for restaurants. That’s why there is a great opportunity for you to become a part of a dynamic, growing Jamaica!
| Radius | 3 miles | 5 miles | 10 miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total annual consumer demand: | $6,577.8 | $15,344.6 | $61,620.6 |
| Total annual retail sales: | $2,784.1 | $7,544.3 | $46,639.2 |
| Total unmet demand: | $3,793.6 | $7,800.2 | $14,981.3 |
| Total spending on dining: | $673.2 | $1,576.0 | $6,394.6 |
| Total restaurant sales: | $263.2 | $794.0 | $5,351.6 |
| Unmet demand for dining: | $410.0 | $781.3 | $1,043.0 |
| Other unmet demand by category: | |||
| Furniture: | $46.8 | $93.7 | $140.2 |
| Home furnishings: | $42.3 | $72.6 | $103.9 |
| Clothing: | $165.1 | $400.0 | ($911.5) |
| Shoes: | $34.6 | $19.2 | ($166.8) |
| Jewelry & leather goods: | $18.6 | $21.6 | ($832.6) |
| Full-service restaurants: | $230.1 | $459.3 | $232.1 |
There are 86,000 people on the sidewalks of Downtown Jamaica every day. On top of that, 200,000 come to Jamaica on the LIRR; 16,000 board the AirTrain in Jamaica to JFK International Airport; 46,000 board the subways here; 49 MTA bus lines deposit riders here; and 15,000 cars pass down Jamaica Avenue every day.
158,000 - Total workforce
$341 million - Yearly spending potential
30,600 - College students
$58 million - Yearly spending potential
GJDC, in coordination with NYCEDC, City, State and Federal Agencies, has been working on over $90 million of infrastructure projects in the Jamaica Station Area.
The Shops at Station Plaza is a recently completed renovation of the Sutphin Underpass resulting in 5,500 new sq. ft. of retail along Sutphin Blvd. Resorts World Casino has opened up a hospitality greeter center/waiting area for its shuttle out to the casino. Currently over 4,500 people take the shuttle from Jamaica Station each week. The underpass previously housed the LIRR printing press and provided minimal light for pedestrians. The renovation created a comfortable, attractive, safe and well lit pedestrian arcade for bus passenger, subway users, residents and employees of the area. In addition to creating new retail space the sidewalk and roadbed lighting was improved and the LIRR commissary space was renovated.
The Atlantic Avenue Extension is the construction of an existing mapped right-of-way that connects Atlantic Avenue to 95th Avenue. A one-way connector loop on 94th and 95th Avenues will be created joining the Van Wyck Expressway in the west to the transit hub at Sutphin Boulevard in the east. The Atlantic Avenue Extension will provide a Western Gateway to downtown Jamaica enhanced by decorative landscaping, lighting and signage. 3 small neighborhood parks will be created as part of the project.
Station Plaza is the realignment of Archer Avenue at Sutphin Boulevard to provide space for a transit plaza where thousands of transit users can change modes in safe and comfortable conditions. The project will include widened sidewalks, additional bus lanes, and plazas with relocated subway exits, new light, public information systems, landscaping and bus shelters. Combined, these improvements create an appropriate public setting for the newly renovated Long Island Rail Road Jamaica Station and the AirTrain connection to JFK.
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC), a non-profit organization, has been awarded a $450,000 New York State Brownfield Opportunity Areas Grant. The BOA grant is for the second phase of a three-part program and will culminate in the preparation of a Final Nomination report to the State. The Nomination designates priority brownfield sites within the BOA that are ripe for redevelopment and suggests development projects for each identified priority site.
To accomplish this task, GJDC will solicit, screen, select, subcontract with and coordinate the work of a number of consulting firms with a range of consulting expertise. The BOA Nomination Study will cover all aspects of pre-planning for brownfield development including, but not limited to, an inventory of current conditions, a market/demand study, infrastructure analysis, and feasibility studies. The project will also draw upon the expertise of an environmental law practice and an environmental advisor with technical knowledge of brownfield assessment and remediation. Overall project management, coordination and contract administration will be the responsibility of a full-time GJDC Project Planner for Brownfield Development dedicated to the BOA program. Other GJDC staff will be available for administrative and technical support.
There is a formal process in place to inform community representatives of the project’s tasks, goals and recommendations. Their opinions and suggestions will be sought throughout the life of the program.
GJDC’s BOA Nomination Study began May 1, 2006 and is expected to be completed October 31, 2007, a period of 18 months.
Acceptance by the State of our selected priority sites will open the door to applying for resources for the third and final stage of the BOA program: Site Selection. Site Selection resources are directed at the development of detailed remediation plans in association with the Department of Environmental Conservation. The plans would meet the requirements of the State’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and therefore, when carried out, would provide release of liability to the developer for any future environmental impacts and would also be a necessary step toward applying to the State for BCP State tax credits.
| Site | Zoning | FAR | Site Size | Site Size (full assemblage) |
Max. Developable Square Footage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C6-4 | 12 | 9,202 | 110,254 | |
| 2 | C6-4 | 12 | 60,138 | 105,164 | 1,261,971 |
| 3 | C6-3 | 8 | 79,974 | 639,792 | |
| 4 | C6-4 | 12 | 37,303 | 447,641 | |
| 6 | C6-4 / C6-3 | 12 and 8 | 58,050 | 651,000 | |
| 8 | C6-3 | 8 | 61,200 | 71,100 | 568,800 |
| 11 | C6-3 | 8 | 18,000 | 135,360 | |
| 12 | C6-3 | 8 | 34,64 | 277,160 | |
| 14 A | C6-4 | 12 | 14,950 | 179,400 | |
| 14 B | M1-4 | 2 | 24,139 | 48,277 | |
| Total Maximum Developable Square Footage | 4,319,656 | ||||
Copyright 2014
Completed in 2005 by the Ciampa Organization, Yorkside Towers were the first market-rate rental housing structures built in Downtown Jamaica in 30 years. The two fully occupied buildings—180 units total—demonstrate the high demand and desirability of living in Downtown Jamaica. The project has added vibrancy to Jamaica and has spurred a wave of new housing developments across the Downtown. Greater Jamaica Development Corporation assembled the land in the mid-1970s and took responsibility for rezoning the land for higher density housing. The project was financed through the New York City Housing Development Corporation’s New Housing Opportunities Program (NewHOP) with a letter of credit from North Fork Bank.
The Bluestone Organization, a Queens based, third generation, full-service real estate developer, recently completed the development of a mixed-use project, providing much needed work force rental housing and commercial/retail space to downtown Jamaica. The project consists of 101 mixed-income residential units and 15,000 sq. ft. of commercial/retail space, located in two high-quality nine-story towers fronting on 160th and 161st Streets. The design incorporates green and sustainable features and materials. Units include a mix of studios, one and two bedroom units, with a range of amenities, including on-site laundry facilities, recreational space and bike storage, and on-site parking. The commercial/retail space includes 6,000 sq. ft. for the Bluestone Organization’s new corporate headquarters and a 4,000 sq. ft. restaurant. http://normantowers.net
Competed in 2010 by the Dermot Company, MODA sets the new standard for housing in downtown Jamaica. Located on Parsons Blvd. and 89th Avenue, the project renovated the old Queens Family Court House to create 346 units of mixed-income housing with community facility and commercial space. CityRib opened on the ground floor providing a much desired sit-down restaurant to the downtown. http://www.modaupgradedliving.com
BRP Companies, a minority developer, will build 100,000 square feet of retail and community facilities, 300 underground parking spaces and 580 units of mixed income affordable housing. The development will feature cutting-edge environmental design, including an on-site co-generation plant, and is expected to receive LEED Silver certification. The retail will be located on the first 2-3 floors with two housing towers located above. The housing is going to be in the Mayor’s proposed 20/30/50 split, 20% at 60% AMI or less, 30% below 80% AMI and the remainder at a market rate max of 125% AMI. Construction will begin in 1Q 2015 and will be complete by 3Q 2016.
Able Management, a minority developer specializing in hospitality, will build a 240 key, 26 story Hilton Garden Inn to replace a previous meat processing plant. The project, situated at the intersection of Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue, is conveniently located directly across from the AirTrain/LIRR Station linking it directly to JFK Airport. The 110,000 square foot project will be the first of its kind in the immediate market and will offer amenities for the guests and area, including a full-service restaurant, meeting space, gym and pool. The project will employ green building standards and receive LEED certification. Construction is anticipated to begin in 1Q 2015 and will be complete by 3Q 2016.
The Blumenfeld Development Group will develop a retail project on the western open air parking lot located at 168th St. and 90th Ave. The project is situated half a block from Jamaica Avenue in the prime shopping area of downtown Jamaica. The project will include 180,000 sq. ft. of retail and a 550 car garage on the adjacent lot. The developer anticipates having a large anchor retail tenant with smaller retailers located along 168th St. to ensure a pedestrian friendly project. The project will employ green building standards.