T
he development of multifamily housing in the city is not a walk on the beach, but Howard Taub is not deterred. The managing partner of Sunny Atlantic Beach Club has filed plans for a 253-unit project at 50-02 Queens Boulevard in Queens' Woodside neighborhood. Taub has requested a zoning variance to allow for a 14-story apartment building.

    Out of the 253 units planned, approximately one-fourth or 63 units will be designated as affordable housing for those earning 60% of the area median income. The project will also include a 19,000-square-foot commercial space and a 4,300-square-foot child care facility.

    According to Taub's project filings, there's a compelling land-use rationale for the proposed actions. The development site has not seen significant investment since 1961. Currently, electronics retailer P.C. Richard & Son occupies the existing buildings on the site, which span 25,000 square feet. These properties will be razed to make way for the development, but P.C. Richard & Son plans to reopen in the commercial space within Taub's development.

    The site also has a three-story building previously used as office space for Teachers Federal Credit Union, which Taub has no plans to touch. In another part of Woodside, the Hakimian Organization recently secured a $175 million loan from Apollo and Lionheart Strategic Management for its mixed-use development at 72-01 Queens Boulevard. Hakimian has recently completed work on the 12-story, 364-unit SOLA Woodside project, and leasing has begun.

    Queens is home to one of the most significant affordable housing projects in the city, Innovation QNS. This summer, L+M Development Partners joined the $2 billion, 3,200-unit project, working on both affordable and market-rate components of the project. The development will feature 1,436 permanently affordable apartments, 142 supportive housing units, and 157 units for recipients of the city's anti-homelessness vouchers.