QUEENS — A plan to transform a crumbling Jamaica garage into a development that would include affordable housing and retail could create nearly 500 jobs in the area, the city said in a request for proposals issued Friday.
The city's Economic Development Corporation seeks to develop the 59,500 square foot site, on 168th Street, between Jamaica and Archer avenues, as part of its goal to revitalize the neighborhood and to help create 200,000 affordable housing units, officials said.
The city-owned site is currently used by the NYPD as a parking garage, but it could accommodate about 300 apartments, sources familiar with the site said.
The garage is located across the street from the Home Depot, ”right in the heart of the growing neighborhood,” the city said in a statement, adding that the site "holds strong potential for an ambitious development program to include hundreds of units of housing, ground-floor retail and other commercial uses.”
The agency tried to revitalize the site eight years ago, but the recession hindered the efforts, the city said.
But now, officials said, the neighborhood is undergoing a number of changes, attracting new residents and developments.
“Anyone walking the streets of Jamaica today can feel the energy here," said deputy mayor for housing and economic development Alicia Glen, in a statement.
"There’s real momentum happening at the grassroots, and it’s something we can spur on by putting city sites to work to bring more affordable housing, stores and jobs to this neighborhood," Glen noted.
Local Councilman I. Daneek Miller said in a statement that he hopes the project will help "accommodate our seniors and retain our young people."
For more information or to download the request for proposals, go here. Submission deadline is April 30, 2015 at 4 p.m.
