Astoria, New York, USA
ODA Architecture, together with Kaufman Art Studios, Silverstein Properties, and BedRock Real Estate Partners have partnered on a $2 billion investment plan called Innovation QNS to rebuild Astoria’s economy in one of New York’s most challenging moments.
Larry Silverstein, Chairman and Founder of Silverstein Properties states: “I’m very excited by the opportunity to work with such great partners and local stakeholders to reactivate this part of Astoria as a district that will improve the quality of life, not just for the people who will live, learn, shop and visit there, but for everyone who currently lives in the immediate surroundings.”
“This is a time when people desperately need jobs, and this project will serve as an enormously important stimulus for Astoria and New York City. Astoria embodies the audacity and determination that has defined our city time and time again. We will meet this moment with resolve, ambition and ingenuity, and emerge stronger than ever, just as we have always done.”
Designed by ODA, Innovation QNS is a neighborhood-focused initiative, in Western Queens, that generates two acres of open space, community health & wellness facilities, hundreds of affordable apartments, and thousands of jobs.
Located on a site currently occupied by large surface parking lots, underutilized buildings, and vacant spaces, the imagined master plan will help jumpstart Astoria’s economy and revitalize Steinway Street in New York.
Building on Astoria’s rich cultural fabric, Innovation QNS will soon reactivate this long-dormant corner of Astoria as a bustling hub of activity by expanding the neighboring Kaufman Arts District and building on existing cultural assets like the Museum of the Moving Image and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts with two acres of open space, an arts and culture hub, enhanced streetscapes and a potential grammar school The plan also includes 200,000 square feet of new neighborhood-serving shops, restaurants and entertainment that complement existing small businesses, as well as health and wellness facilities tailored to meet the needs of area residents.
The overall plan includes 2,700 mixed-income apartments, including some 700 permanently affordable and senior apartments and 250,000 square feet of space for small businesses, startups and nonprofits in the creative industries.
The overall plan includes 2,700 mixed-income apartments, including some 700 permanently affordable and senior apartments and 250,000 square feet of space for small businesses, startups and nonprofits in the creative industries.
This plan hopes to create both near- and long-term economic opportunity in Astoria, Queens by channeling $2 billion in private investment toward the creation of a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use creative district in a largely dormant corner of the community.”
Planned from the ground up with the public realm as the key priority, the mixed-use district will address many of the needs of the community such as open space, enhanced streetscapes, arts and culture programming, and lifetime learning opportunities, mixed-income housing, and commercial space for innovation companies.
ODA’s master plan in Western Queens balances the need for shelter, security and privacy with the need for community, a connection to nature and access to resources that offer an overall improvement of life through good design.
More than 60 years after it was founded, Silverstein Properties is synonymous with revitalization. Now, the leadership, tenacity and vision that Larry Silverstein demonstrated in rebuilding Lower Manhattan in the dark days that followed 9/11 are precisely what is needed as we embark on this next recovery.
BedRock Real Estate Partners’ principals have a decades-long record of sustainable community investment. Working with residents, small businesses and community-based organizations to create real opportunity that strengthens neighborhoods over the long term is what drives BedRock and will be the foundation for Astoria’s next chapter.
The neighborhood-focused initiative is scheduled to jump-start construction in 2023, with an initial activation in 2025.
Architects: ODA Architecture
Developers: Silverstein Properties and BedRock Real Estate Partners
Client: Kaufman Art Studios
