The City Council on Thursday is expected to approve a major development in Willets Point that will pave the way for a 25,000-seat soccer stadium and 1,400 affordable apartments on the Queens peninsula formerly full of auto shops.
The project, led by a joint venture of the Related Cos. and Sterling Equities, will construct a new stadium next to Citi Field for Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club. The new housing comes on top of an initial phase of 1,100 apartments, which the city began constructing in December.
Thursday’s vote will be a culmination of years of efforts to redevelop Willets Point, once a heavily polluted area famously dubbed the “Valley of Ashes” in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Although initial attempts sputtered under Michael Bloomberg, the latest plans, which originated under Bill de Blasio and were finalized under Mayor Eric Adams, have met little resistance and enjoy the support of local City Councilman Francisco Moya — a noted soccer fan.
The $780 million soccer stadium will be privately financed, although the city will miss out on some $516 million in taxes over the team’s 49-year lease since it chose to lease the land to the developers rather than sell it, according to an analysis last year by the Independent Budget Office. The city has said it will charge the developers $500,000 in rent that will eventually escalate to $4 million.
The stadium is expected to open by early 2027.
The 17-acre project expected to pass on Thursday, known as Willets Point Phase II, also comes with a 250-room hotel, 80,000 square feet of retail and about 3 acres of open space. A 650-seat public school will be built as part of the first phase of construction.
“This is a project that will transform an area that was underutilized and contaminated and will turn it into Queens’ next great neighborhood,” said Related executive Frank Monterisi at a City Council hearing last month.
The site sits on the east side of the New York Mets’ stadium, Citi Field; to the ballpark’s west is the 50-acre parking lot that Mets owner Steve Cohen wants to redevelop into a casino complex.
Mayor Eric Adams and Moya plan to celebrate outside City Hall on Thursday following the vote. They will be joined by labor unions, which support the rezoning thanks to its promise of creating some 14,000 construction jobs.
The entire project will generate some $6 billion in economic impact over 30 years, according to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is spearheading it. It amounts to one of the most significant developments to be passed under Adams, who is hoping to build more housing by relaxing zoning laws through his City of Yes plan.
Nick Garber , 2024-04-10 22:02:25
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