HPD, L+M, Triangle Equities, Bluestone aim to bring 1,650-units to Rockaways

The City of New York and a tri-venture team of Triangle Equities, L+M Development Partners, and the Bluestone Organization are moving forward with a project, known as Arverne East, that will bring 1,650 residential units and more than 260,000 square feet of commercial space to an 80-plus acre site on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development filed a land use application with the city’s Department of City Planning calling for a zoning map amendment from C4-4 to MX-21: M1-4/R6 and a zoning text amendment to establish an MX district. The amendments are intended to facilitate the development of approximately 1,650-units (with 1,320 affordable units), 262,000-square-feet of commercial space, a 35-acre nature preserve, a 15-acre dune preserve, and a private street network in Arverne.

The application was filed on August 11 and reviewed by the City Planning Commission on September 14.

The development team aims to establish coastal resiliency to ensure that the Rockaway Peninsula area, which was impacted by Hurricane Sandy and is vulnerable to flooding from bay and sea storms, has a defense against future “superstorms.”

Designs for the redevelopment also include a 10,000-15,000-square-foot brewery and tap house for the Rockaway Beach Brewing Company and a 60,000-square-foot boutique hotel along the beach.

HPD hopes to close off the project area to commence construction of a nature preserve by April of next year, with infrastructure improvements aimed to start inn July of 2021.