As I was standing a few weekends ago,waiting in line for Banner Day, I couldn’t get over the beauty of the view of the Iron Triangle. GEEZ, what a dump. Beautiful ballpark in a crappy area. I am glad, GLAD, that this is finally happening. Just not an appealing view at all.
“We are thrilled to have been selected by the City to advance the Mayor and the administration’s vision to rejuvenate Willets Point and completely transform a 23 acre dilapidated area into a stunning new mixed use neighborhood, which will become a destination and serve as a catalyst for future development and investment. We commend Mayor Bloomberg for his steadfast commitment to redevelop Willets Point which will benefit the borough’s economy with 12,000 union construction jobs and 7,100 permanent jobs in the initial phase alone. We look forward to working with the administration, EDC, local elected officials and the community as the development moves forward,” said Jeff Wilpon, EVP of Sterling Equities, Inc., and Jeff Blau, President of Related Companies, the joint venture partner entities of Queens Development Group.
Here are some details….
The Queens Development Group will acquire an initial 23 acres in the Special Willets Point District to the east of Citi Field to begin build-out of Phase 1 and will create a retail and entertainment attraction to the west of Citi Field, allowing for a more comprehensive and continuous transit-oriented development around access to the Mets/Willets Point stops on the 7 Train and Long Island Rail Road. Ultimately, the plan will unlock over 5 million square feet of new development in a unified district, transforming a contaminated area into a new neighborhood. The build-out will include retail, hotel and commercial uses to complement a residential community of 2,500 housing units, of which 875 units will be affordable. The expanded vision will infuse $3 billion of private investment into the local economy and create 7,100 permanent jobs and 12,000 direct construction jobs with MWBE and local hiring goals of 25 percent. During construction, the project will generate over $310 million in new tax revenue, and once operational will account for over $150 million in new annual tax revenue.
I am sure there will be some people against this but I think it will really help bring more oomf to Flushing. Read the rest of the article here.
I am not against this per se…in an ideal world this would be the greatest thing for Met fans. But this is far from an ideal world right now. Xanadu at the Meadowlands is a similar project to turn a swamp in to a sports arena/destination area…it has been called a ‘collassal real estate nightmare.” The economy just may not be able to support all the new businesses that will be on the site. Of course the Wilpon’s are going to love this…they get the city to spend 100 Million in taxpayer money for infrastructure and they get to do what they do well (real estate development) and at the same try to to revive the business they have screwed up to a fare-thee-well…the money losing, debt saddled baseball team that we still love. I wish them the best and am happy not to invest with them.
The plan is a horror and I assume MetsPolice will be leading the charge against it!
The development in the Triangle might be okay, but have you see the plans to build a lousy retail mall in the parking lot on top of the Shea bases?!? A disgrace.
I didn’t see that…that is hallowed ground and building over it would be a disgrace.
It’s a total disgrace:
I noticed that after I posted last night and was talking about it on Facebook. I don’t like the idea of anything in that parking lot area. The lots are fine. Don’t need buildings there at all. Don’t remove the bases. They need to stay as is. As for the iron triangle go nuts. There is nothing there at all worth keeping. I can’t believe Tom and I are in agreement on something. 2012 world is ending for sure.
I think they should truly embrace New York tradition, and build a housing project atop the old Shea diamond.