Related Companies and Sterling Equities hold groundbreaking at Willets Point

Queens, NY Queens Development Group (QDG), a joint venture between Related Companies and Sterling Equities, in partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), New York City Housing Development Corp. (HDC) and the New York City Economic Development Corp. (EDC) officially celebrated the opening of the first 880 affordable homes at Willets Point Commons, with move-ins beginning this month, and one acre of new public green space for residents. The event also marked the start of construction on Building 3, the next 220 affordable homes in the neighborhood for low-income seniors.

The 880 homes across Buildings 1 and 2 will serve households earning between 30 and 120% of area median income (AMI). Twenty percent of apartments will be home to Queens Community Board 7 residents, 10% for veterans and / or NYC municipal employees, 5% for mobility access needs and 2% for visual/hearing access needs.

Willets Point Commons is managed by Related Management Company, and features a full suite of amenities, including two landscaped inner courtyards, a tenant lounge space, outdoor terraces and BBQs, community garden, fitness center, children’s playroom, co-working space, bike storage, electric vehicle charging, ground floor retail shops, and other community facilities. Willets Point also offers direct transit access via the 7-train, LIRR, and Q19, Q90, and Q66 bus routes, simplifying commutes to the city.

Delivering these 220 affordable senior housing apartments will complete the 1,100-unit commitment as part of Phase 1 of the Willets Point transformation. Phase 2 of the development will deliver the remaining 1,400 of the 2,500 new affordable homes, as well as a new public school, more than 150,000 s/f for public open space, local businesses, a new hotel, and Etihad Park – the future home of the New York City Football Club (NYCFC), the city’s first professional soccer-specific stadium. The stadium is expected to be completed and operational by the 2027 Major League Soccer season. Phase 2 will also deliver key infrastructure that builds upon the work of Phase 1 and enables Willets Point to grow and function as one of the city’s newest neighborhoods.

Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment arranged a total of $360 million in financing for phase one of the project including Willets Point Commons, Buildings 1 and 2, with a $236.5 million construction loan and $123.5 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investment. The full capitalization of Willets Point Building 3, with approximately $211 million in financing, closed including a Letter of Credit and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investment by The Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and NYC affordable housing capital subsidy provided by NYCHDC and NYCHPD. 

“Today is a major milestone for Willets Point. I’m proud to welcome the first residents home to Willets Point Commons — the largest fully affordable housing development our city has seen in decades,” said mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “At a time when too many New Yorkers are being priced out of the neighborhoods they built, this project is proof that government can still deliver bold, transformative change. By bringing together labor, community partners, and every level of government, we are creating a future where working families can afford to build their lives in this city.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome the first group of Willets Point Commons residents to their new homes. This day has been a long time coming, and thanks to the dedicated work of teams at QDG, HPD, HDC, and EDC, soon thousands of New Yorkers will benefit from affordable housing, open space, a new school, and more – all built by workers with good-paying, quality jobs,” said Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for housing and planning.

“We are excited to welcome the first residents to Willets Point after over 15 years of hard work, dedication and public-private partnership to get us to this moment,” said Bruce Beal, Jr., president of Related Companies, and Gregory Katz, partner at Sterling Equities, on behalf of QDG. “What started as a vision to transform an underutilized part of Queens into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood is now coming to life as families and hardworking New Yorkers move in. We look forward to continuing this incredible progress as we start construction on the next 220 senior homes.”

“Willets Point, which famously inspired the ‘Valley of Ashes’ in The Great Gatsby, was for decades a low-lying, flood-prone area marked by pollution and heavy industrial use. Today, Willets Point is undergoing a transformation, becoming the largest 100% affordable housing development built in New York City in over 40 years,” said HPD commissioner Dina Levy. “More than 800 homes are now complete, with over 200 more on the way. In the months ahead, more than 1,000 New Yorkers will move in and begin a new chapter in Willets Point, where a new neighborhood is finally taking shape.”

“Today marks a new beginning for Willets Point as we welcome hundreds of New Yorkers to their new homes at Willets Point Commons,” said New York City Economic Development interim president and CEO Jeanny Pak. “As we welcome these families, we are also thrilled that construction has started for the next phase of this transformative project that will deliver 220 units of much-needed senior affordable housing. Nowhere is there a better example of how the community and the public and private sector, can come together to deliver a vision for a more affordable city than right here in Queens.”

“Rising out of the former Valley of Ashes are 880 brighter futures for the first residents of the reimagined Willets Point. This historic moment for our borough is the first of many more to come in this community, and I look forward to the creation of 220 units of affordable housing for low-income seniors to that list,” said Queens borough president Donovan Richards Jr. “This transformational project proves that Queens is truly the future, and I couldn’t be more grateful to work alongside our public and private partners in growing this Valley of Opportunity.”

New York City councilmember Shanel Thomas-Henry said, “Today marks a major milestone not just for Willets Point, but for the future of affordable housing in New York City. As the first residents begin moving in, we are seeing the next chapter of this community begin to take shape. This development represents an opportunity to further deepen the culture, diversity, and sense of community that make District 21 and Queens so special, while also creating new opportunities for families, seniors, veterans, and working New Yorkers to build their futures here. My hope is that Willets Point becomes a model for how development with community at the center can create neighborhoods that are both affordable and built to serve the people who call this city home.”

“Wells Fargo is proud to support the opening of the first phase of Willets Point Commons,” said Peter Cannava, head of community lending & investment at Wells Fargo. “Working alongside The Related Companies, Sterling Equities and our public-sector financing partners, we helped bring the financing together to transform a long-overlooked area into a vibrant, mixed-use community. We are pleased to support a development that will anchor a new neighborhood for years to come.”

“Willets Point is another proof point of what can be accomplished through public-private partnerships,” said Asahi Pompey, chair of the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs. “We are honored to partner with the City, Related, and Sterling to deliver Building 3 and provide more affordable homes, including for seniors, in Queens.”