Greater Jamaica Development Corp. (GJDC) launches RFP for 500,000 s/f retail and residential project

Queens, NY Continuing the development boom in Jamaica, the Greater Jamaica Development Corp. (GJDC) is seeking a developer to create a 500,000 s/f project with ground-floor retail and at least 250 mixed-income residential units, a portion of which will be dedicated for artists. The GJDC-owned site, an open-air parking lot at 168^th St. and 90^th Ave. (90-02 168^th St.) – half a block from Jamaica Ave. – has a footprint of 99,500 s/f that permits a development project up to 497,500 s/f.

The retail portion of the project – a minimum of 75,000 s/f – will help address the strong demand for more shopping options in Jamaica. A recent survey by GJDC found that local residents shopped less frequently in the area than in other places and spent four times more money outside the district.

“This site presents a tremendous opportunity to create a transformative project that will be key in Jamaica’s resurgence,” said Hope Knight, president and CEO of GJDC. “This development has the potential of bringing a much-needed general merchandise store and family-style restaurant back to the area to support the growing population and volume of daily shoppers that is at an all-time high.”

While much of the current development in Downtown Jamaica has been around the AirTrain Station, revitalization activity is spreading to the eastern part of the district with two major projects about to commence on 168th Street. One block south from the GJDC site, the NYC Economic Development Corporation is expected to designate a developer this fall to transform an underutilized City-owned lot into a 428,000 s/f mixed-use project.

The request for proposals can be viewed on GJDC’s website. GJDC will hold an information session for interested respondents in mid-October and proposals are due by December 2^nd. A developer will be selected by the end of this year.

Labeled New York City’s hottest neighborhood, Jamaica, Queens is seeing a renaissance. The Greater Jamaica Development Corporation has nurtured nearly $1 billion of private and public-sector investment over the past decade is creating more than 5.1 million SF of new residential, hotel and retail space. This includes more than 3,000 mixed-income and market-rate apartments, anchored by the largest private-development project in Jamaica in decades about to break ground next to the LIRR/AirTrain Station; over 2,200 hotel rooms in various stages of development; and a four-story, 150,000 s/f  retail complex in the heart of Jamaica Avenue that is under construction. Currently, the City and Queens Borough President’s office are implementing its “Jamaica Now” plan of strategic actions to further revitalization and soon will announce plans for a 428,000 s/f  mixed-use site and a traffic-improvement project. Jamaica Avenue is one of the busiest retail corridors in the city attracting more than 100,000 shoppers daily and accessible by 64 mass transit lines converging on the area. The neighborhood has seen annual increases in pedestrian and vehicular traffic with subway and AirTrain ridership topping 6.5 million riders in 2014 – up 18% since 2011. Furthermore, Jamaica is home to York College, which has more than 8,000 students, and a diverse and growing cultural community.