Tuesday, June 15, 2014 - New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Vicki Been announced today the release of a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop a transit-oriented, mixed-use, and mixed-income development with approximately 200 new affordable apartments in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens. The Flushing Municipal Lot 3 development site is approximately 43,200-square-feet and is currently being used as a municipal parking lot operated by the Department of Transportation (DOT). HPD is seeking proposals to redevelop the property as mixed-income affordable housing that includes retail and/or community facility space that will add to and enhance the current inventory of community and cultural uses and spaces available in the neighborhood.
“The details of the Flushing Municipal Lot 3 RFP were inspired by a community visioning process. We recognize the critical importance of community input in keeping with goal of the Mayor’s Housing New York plan to foster a place-based approach and meet each neighborhood’s unique needs,” said HPD Commissioner Vicki Been. “We expect the development community to bring us proposals that are carefully and creatively crafted to enhance the existing neighborhood, which is one of the most diverse and vibrant in the City. In addition to creating new affordable housing for households across a range of incomes, we are seeking a mix of innovative design with community and retail uses that will make the most of this exciting development opportunity.”
The Flushing Municipal Lot 3 site is being developed under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough, 10-Year Housing Plan, to finance the creation and preservation of 200,000 units of affordable housing. The most comprehensive affordable housing plan in the city’s history, its goal is to help address the crisis of affordability in our city by reaching more than half a million New Yorkers ranging from those with very low incomes at the bottom of the economic ladder to those in the middle class who are facing ever-rising rents in their neighborhoods.
Downtown Flushing, located in north central Queens, is one of New York City’s largest retail and commercial centers, and is characterized by a diverse residential population. With a population of more than 250,100 people, Queens Community District 7 is also the most populous Community District in New York City, having grown by about 11 percent since 1990, according to the 2010 Census.
The development site is bordered by 41st Avenue, College Point Boulevard, Main Street, and the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) Flushing-Main Street Station. The Flushing station of the LIRR Port Washington line provides service to Penn Station as well as points east to Port Washington. The Number 7 subway line stops at Roosevelt Avenue and Main Street approximately two blocks from the Site. Additionally, more than 15 bus lines operate within a few blocks of the site, providing access throughout Queens and to other boroughs.
The development of Flushing Municipal Lot 3 compliments the goals of Housing New York by providingthis growing and thriving Community District with much needed affordable housing that is transit-oriented and that furthers economic and neighborhood development through the creation of new commercial and community space.
The RFP encourages developers/teams to be guided by the neighborhood makeup and demographics as they develop their proposal. The RFP seeks approximately 200 new units of mixed-income affordable housing. Proposals must provide that at least 50 percent of the units are two-bedroom units, or that at least 40 percent of the units will be family-sized units: e.g. 30 percent of the units will be two-bedroom units and 10 percent will be three-bedroom units. In addition to the residential component, proposals should include ground-floor retail that provides local services and/or community facility space.
The RFP submission period is now open and runs through October 10, 2014. For more information and to obtain a copy of the RFP, please visit HPD’s website at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/developers/rfp.shtml.
During the winter of 2013/2014 HPD conducted a community visioning process with Community Districts 3, 4 and 7, as well as the area’s local elected officials to help shape the development program in this RFP. During this process the community expressed a strong desire for affordable housing for families and seniors, at a variety of income levels. They also expressed a desire for community facilities, neighborhood services, and commercial uses.
All city-subsidized newly constructed and some affordable developments that require extensive renovation must achieve certification through the Enterprise Green Communities Program, a comprehensive green building framework for affordable housing that provides cost‐effective standards for creating healthy and energy‐efficient homes, while limiting and controlling construction waste and by-products.
About The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD):
HPD is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and viable neighborhoods for New Yorkers through education, outreach, loan and development programs, and enforcement of housing quality standards. HPD is tasked with fulfilling Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York: A Five-Borough Ten-Year Plan to build and preserve 200,000 affordable units for New Yorkers at the very lowest incomes to those in the middle class. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us via www.facebook.com/nychpd and www.twitter.com/nychousing.
