Phase one of the long-delayed 62-acre Willets Point redevelopment project in Queens, N.Y., took a step forward with the New York City Economic Development Corp.’s May 9 call for proposal requests.
NYCEDC sent RFPs to a group of 29 developers that answered the agency’s request for qualifications in 2009. NYCEDC asked the group to form teams, create a development proposal and submit it by Aug. 12, 2011.
The 12.7-acre phase-one plan includes up to 68,000 sq ft of retail space, up to 400 housing units—35% of which will be qualified as affordable—a hotel, two acres of open space and a parking area.
NYCEDC created the plan in a joint effort with community and local elected officials and is expected to create 1,800 permanent jobs and 4,600 construction jobs.
Progress on the redevelopment project has been at a standstill and no infrastructure developer has been selected. An RFP to find one is currently in progress.
“This project has been delayed for too long and we must move forward,” said Council Member Julissa Ferreras in a statement.
New Jersey
N.J. To Receive More Than $160M For Water Projects
NEW JERSEY will receive $161.5 million in federal funding during 2011 for beach replenishment, flood mitigation and harbor maintenance projects. The appropriations were included in the fiscal year 2011 budget continuing resolution, which Congress passed in April. The Army Corps of Engineers will administer the funding.
For beach replenishment, $7.5 million will go to Monmouth Beach; $7.6 million will go to Long Beach Island; $11.9 million will go to Atlantic City and Ventnor; $10.3 million will go to Cape May and Lower Township; and $300,000 will go to the Long-Term Beach Nourishment Study to evaluate methods to manage New Jersey’s coastal projects on a regional basis in order to increase the benefits from federal investments.
An additional $73 million will go toward continued deepening of the New York and New Jersey Harbor in order to ensure that large cargo ships will be able to pass through the port.
For flood mitigation and water infrastructure projects, $566,000 will go to operating a flood monitoring and flood response system in the Passaic River Basin; $129,000 will go to planning flood damage initiatives; $1 million will go to begin flood mitigation construction at the Raritan River Basin and the Green Brook Sub-Basin in Middlesex Borough; $250,000 will go to preparing for flood mitigation construction at the Raritan River Basin; and $350,000 will go toward creating a flood reduction plan at Rahway River Basin.
An additional $1 million will go to the Hudson-Raritan Estuary project, which will help develop a comprehensive ecosystem restoration and management plan for the New York and New Jersey Harbor.
“This federal funding will boost New Jersey’s economy, help prevent flooding in our communities and protect our beaches,” said U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D) in a statement.
Lautenberg fought proposed budget cuts for the Army Corps of Engineers; he worked in the Senate to provide $84 million more than was original proposed for these projects.
New York
N.Y. Foundling Hospital Converts to Public School
THE NEW YORK SCHOOL Construction Authority plans to convert the lower six floors and cellar of the 95,000-sq-ft, 14-story New York Foundling Hospital’s Manhattan building, built in 1988, into a new public school. Upon scheduled completion in September 2014, Public School 340, located at the corner of the Avenue of the Americas and 17th Street, will serve 518 students in levels pre-K through fifth grade.
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