Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Release # 329-01

Contact: Sunny Mindel / Peter C. Fenty (646) 328-7418
  Gregory Miley/Janel Patterson (EDC) (212) 312-3523
  Paul Travis (QPMG) (212) 906-9090


MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES DEVELOPER FOR LONG ISLAND CITY
MUNICIPAL PARKING GARAGE

Project Will Produce 1.5 Million Square Feet of Office Space
And Bring Approximately 7,000 New Jobs to LIC


Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced today that QPMG Associates LLC has been designated to develop the Queens Plaza Municipal Garage in Long Island City for office and retail space and a new public parking garage.

"The City has put a great deal of effort into rezoning Long Island City to promote increased development to accommodate the need for quality office space and to make Long Island City a central business district," said Mayor Giuliani. "The development of this site will be a key component in achieving those goals. In light of the events of September 11, QPMG Associates' commitment to this project is testimony to the resolve of the real estate community to move forward with the future of New York City in all five boroughs."

QPMG proposes to demolish the existing five-story parking garage and construct 1.5 million square feet of quality office space with ground floor retail, in either a single tower or two smaller towers. The project will also include replacement of the existing 1,100-car parking capacity now provided in the parking garage.

Borough President Claire Shulman said, "The utilization of this site for a new 1.5 million-square-foot commercial office center is a milestone in the development of Long Island City. Many businesses are realizing that Queens, and Long Island City in particular, is within minutes of midtown Manhattan. It offers excellent transportation access, great real estate value, and most importantly, a location for businesses that seek to capitalize on the talent, brainpower and diversity of our great borough."

QPMG Associates is an entity formed by the Louis Dreyfus Property Group (Queens) Corp. and Arete LIC LLC. Louis Dreyfus has developed and acquired over seven million square feet of real estate in New York, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Portland, Oregon, Miami and Montreal. Louis Dreyfus and Arete have also secured the three-acre, privately owned "QP" site directly across Jackson Avenue.

"We are very pleased to have been designated by the City to proceed with the redevelopment of the municipal garage site," said Jeffrey L. Sussman, President, Louis Dreyfus Property Group. "With the QP site, over three million square feet of first class office space will be available for companies that want to be part of the new major mixed-use community in Long Island City. We thank the Mayor and his administration for ensuring Long Island City as the City's newest business center."

Bounded by Queens Plaza South, Jackson Avenue, 42nd Road, and 28th Street, the site is convenient to the Queens Plaza subway station with the E, F, G and R subway lines. The Queensborough Plaza subway station with the N and 7 lines are three blocks away. A new Long Island Rail Road station is expected to be built in nearby Sunnyside Yards by 2010. Manhattan and Long Island are minutes away via the Queensborough Bridge and the Long Island Expressway.

"This important project will bring approximately 3,300 construction and 7,000 permanent jobs to Long Island City," said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Finance Robert M. Harding. "I am pleased at the confidence the members of the development team are expressing in Queens and Long Island City."

"Following MetLife's recent decision to move 1,000 employees to its new Long Island City location and the continuing progress at Queens West, this project will ensure Long Island City's future as a major business district," said EDC President Michael G. Carey.

QPMG was selected to develop the site as a result of a Request for Proposals (RFPs) issued by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), on behalf of the City. Construction on the $700-million project is expected to begin Fall 2002.

In evaluating the proposals, EDC considered a number of criteria, including development team qualifications, financial feasibility, relationship to the surrounding community, design features and ability to complete the project in a reasonable timeframe.

EDC is the City's primary vehicle for economic development. Using its real estate and financial resources, EDC helps develop businesses and create jobs throughout the five boroughs. EDC is also responsible for the sale of City-owned land for economic development.



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