Vaya Development files plans for 285 units in Jamaica
164-02 Jamaica Avenue diagram and site image (Diagram credit - Suzanna Tharian architect via DOB, site image credit - Google Earth)
Melissa Bindra, principal of Vaya Development, in partnership with Comunilife, submitted a new building construction project for a 285-unit, 290,561-square-foot residential (R-2) building at 164-02 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The plan was filed on April 6, 2026. It calls for the construction of a 285-foot-tall, 28-story building and was filed with the New York City Department of Buildings under job number Q01367014. The project is described in the filing as: Propose New 28-Story Mixed Use Building (Use Group Vi Commercial, Use Group Ii Qualifying Affordable Housing, And Use Group IIIA Affordable Supportive Housing) Plus Cellar As Per Plan. Obtain New C Of O. The applicant is the Registered Architect Suzanna Tharian of Stat Architecture PC.
Latest Vaya Development Stories:
• Nonprofit Comunilife pays $13.5M to Francmen Realty for likely dev site in Jamaica (May 08, 2025)
• Vaya Development signs $65.6M construction loan for 114-unit project in Mt Hope (April 11, 2024)
• Vaya Development plans 114-unit, 78K sf affordable building in Mt. Hope (August 24, 2022)
• Steven Chera pays $5.5M to Son Dinh Tran for industrial in Mt Hope (January 21, 2022)
164-02 Jamaica Avenue
| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | floor | comment | description | persons_permitted | occupancy_label | zoning_use | dwelling_units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | Cellar | SUPER'S OFFICE, STORAGE ROOMS ACCESSORY TO RESIDENTIAL USE, BIKE ROOMS FOR 107 SPACES | Storage of non combustible Materials | 8 | Storage | ||
| 2 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | Cellar | ELECTRICAL ROOM, MECHANICAL ROOM,, GAS METER ROOM, WATER METER, PUMP ROOM, ATS ROM, TELECOM ROOM, EQUIPMENT ERV ROOM, COMPACTOR ROOM, DETENTION TANK | Mechanical and/or electrical equipment room | 5 | Factory and Industrial | ||
| 3 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 1 | ACCESSORY CENTRAL OFFICES FOR PHILANTHROPIC OR NON-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING (OL: 13) | Business and Service | 13 | Business | ||
| 4 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 1 | ACCESSORY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (OL: 9), WELLNESS CENTER (OL: 30), TENANT FITNESS ROOM (OL: 9), LAUNDRY ROOM (OL: 23), BUILDING LOBBY | Apartment | 113 | Residential | ||
| 5 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 1 | RETAIL SPACE | Retail Sale | 151 | Mercantile | ||
| 6 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 2 | NON-PROFIT INSTITUTION WITH SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS (3 UNITS) | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 3 | |
| 7 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 2 | NINE CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 9 | |
| 8 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 3 | EIGHT CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 8 | |
| 9 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 3 | NON-PROFIT INSTITUTION WITH SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS (4 UNITS) | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 4 | |
| 10 | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | acris | 04/09/2026 05:48 AM | 4 | EIGHT CLASS A APARTMENTS | Apartment | 0 | Residential | 8 |
The neighborhood
In Jamaica, The bulk, or 34 percent of the 29.2 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space. In sales, Jamaica has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $283.9 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 10th highest in Queens. For development, Jamaica has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 3rd highest in Queens. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 10 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.
The block
On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 14 of the 18 commercial properties representing 725,463 square feet of the 1,000,217 square feet. The largest owner is Alex Adjmi, followed by BRP Companies and then Comunilife.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 925,185 square feet. The largest is a 605-unit, 408,273 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by BRP Companies and filed by Mary Serafy with plans filed August 7, 2019 and permitted April 25, 2022. The second largest is a 400-unit, 288,320 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by BRP Companies and filed by Mary Serafy with plans filed December 9, 2024 and permitted January 30, 2026.
The Owner
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Vaya Development owned at least 13 commercial properties with 894 residential units in New York City with 1,182,471 square feet and a city-determined market value of $115 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $548.9 million in debt, with top three lenders as Merchants Capital, New York City Housing Authority, and NYC Housing Development Corporation respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 97 percent of the 1,182,471 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with retail properties next occupying 2 percent of the space. The bulk, or 97 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 2 percent of the space.
The surrounding
Within a 400-foot radius of 164-02 Jamaica Avenue, PincusCo identified three commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those three items, one was for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. It was a permit application filed on November 19, 2025 for the $560,000 renovation of 68,880-square-foot residential (R-2) building with 14 residential units at 163-18 Jamaica Avenue.
Of those three items, two were loans above $5 million totaling $261.3 million. The most recent of the two was BRP Companies and RiseBoro Community Partnership in which borrowed $254.7 million from NYC Housing Development Corporation secured by the zero-square-foot development site (V1) on 163-25 Archer Avenue on January 12, 2026.
Direct link to the property ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.