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Durst Organization Plans to Build 1,000 Apartments Next to LIC Clock Tower

By Jeanmarie Evelly | December 16, 2016 11:16am | Updated on December 19, 2016 8:40am
 Durst Organization bought the landmarked Clock Tower building and adjacent development site for $167 million, according to the company.
Durst Organization bought the landmarked Clock Tower building and adjacent development site for $167 million, according to the company.
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DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

LONG ISLAND CITY — The Durst Organization has purchased the landmarked Clock Tower building in Queens Plaza as well as an undeveloped lot next door and plans to build 1,000 new rental apartments.

Durst bought the properties last week for $167 million from Property Markets Group and Kamran Hakim of the Hakim Organization, according to a press release.

The sellers had previously planned to build a 70-story, 930-apartment tower at the site.

Now Durst will be looking to construct something similar in size on the L-shaped lot at 29-37 41st Ave., with the project contingent on the state legislature approving a deal struck last month to revive the 421-a tax abatement program, which expired nearly a year before.

A spokesman for the developer said the group is not planning any changes to the Clock Tower building, which was declared a city landmark last year.

RELATED: 421-a Deal Reached, Putting Rental Construction Back on Track, Experts Say

The developer wants to build a one million-square-foot apartment tower next to the landmark which would contain 1,000 rental apartments, at least 250 of which would be affordable, according to a press release from Durst.

The project would also include a half-acre public park and a renovated entrance to the nearby Queens Plaza subway station, the company said.

The deal was first reported by The Real Deal.

"This is an extraordinary site with spectacular views and outstanding mass transit connectivity,” Jonathan Durst, the company's president, said in a statement. 

"The project provides us with the opportunity to build much needed market-rate and affordable housing and to make the long-term investments in New York City that have been the bedrock of The Durst Organization’s success for more than 100 years."

Property Markets Group, one of the sellers, declined to comment, and Kamran Hakim of the Hakim Organization, the other seller, didn't respond to request for comment.