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  First LIC condos hit the market
Litmus test for changing industrial area in Queens Rezoning in mid-2001 opened the mostly industrial Long Island City, Queens, to residential development, causing land values there to soar amid a wave of new construction and high hopes that an inland 37-block portion of t he East River enclave will be the next Williamsburg. New Development Now, to great expectations, the first three luxury condominiums to hit the market in the neighborhood—two inside the rezoned area and one nearer to the water—are about to test buyers’ appetites. The Gantry, expected to be completed by next spring, is located on the 5th Street waterfront strip in Hunters Point—the most prominent image most New Yorker conjure up when they think of Long Island City. Fifth Street is home to the only two occupied large-scale residential buildings in the area, the 430 story City Lights, a 500-unit co-op built in 1997, and the 43-story AvalonBay Riverview, completed in 2002 with 372 rentals. The two towers won’t be alone for long. AvalonBay plans a second building and Rockrose Development intends to build seven towers on the strip, for a total of 3.250 units. The first one, a rental with 500 units, is set to open in the summer. At six storied, the Gantry, is modest by those standards, offering 47 one-, two- and three-bedroom condos, priced from the mid-$400,000’s. But it offers Manhattan-style amenities, including 9-foot ceilings, oversized windows and private terraces in most units. Kitchens have stone countertops with mosaic tile backsplashes and stainless steel appliances, and bathrooms feature vessel sinks, slate tile floors, and oversized soaking tubs. The contemporary-design lobby has linear metal walls with stainless steel accents, tile floors, and a eucalyptus wood desk with stone counter. Private cabanas are offered on the rooftop. Before the Oct. 27 opening, according to Douglas Elliman’s Rick Kelly, a sales manager for the building, over 700 people had expressed interest in the project via the project's website, www.thegantry.com. |
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