LONG ISLAND CITY — The Durst Organization plans to build a 63-story tower with 763 apartments and a public park in the lot next door to the landmarked Clock Tower building in Queens Plaza, city records show.
The prolific developer filed plans with the Department of Buildings on Friday for the new building at 29-55 Northern Boulevard — also known as 29-37 41st Ave. — which will measure 710 feet high and include 8,702-square-feet of retail space.
The Real Deal first reported on the plans.
Durst purchased both the lot and the Clock Tower building next to it for $163 million in December, saying at the time that development of the site was contingent on the revival of the state's 421-a program, which offered tax breaks to developers in exchange for the creation of affordable housing.
Lawmakers approved a new version of 421-a this past spring. Durst's building will be constructed using the tax break, meaning at least 25 percent of the tower's 763 apartments will be set aside as affordable, spokesman Jordan Barowtiz said.
The company's plans for the site are slightly smaller in scale than what was proposed by its previous owners, Property Markets Group, which had initially planned a 70-story, 930-unit building for the location.
In 2015, Property Markets Group bought unused air rights from an MTA-owned lot nearby, allowing them to build 39 stories higher than zoning would otherwise permit.
Barowtiz did not have a timeline for when construction will start on Durst's project, which will also include a half-acre public park and renovations to the nearby Queens Plaza subway station.
