Score one more for Long Island City and its transformation from gritty factory town into a live, work and play neighborhood.
A long vacant building at 30-30 Northern Blvd., now just a concrete shell, will become a seven-story commercial complex by this time next year, according to the project’s developer.
And a university campus could also be there in five years.
Alma Realty has begun gutting the building and plans to add two stories and complete a new 270,000-square-foot structure by early 2013. Plans also call for a rooftop terrace and for the building to be Gold LEED-certified, a coveted badge of eco-friendliness.
The building would be the latest addition to the growing area, which recently welcomed JetBlue employees after the company relocated its headquarters from Forest Hills to Queens Plaza.
“This is an opportunity to impact the neighborhood in a positive way,” said Alma Realty Project Director George Valiotis. “We really believe in this area.”
Alma will soon be looking for tenants — especially tech firms — to occupy the building, which a decade ago housed a topless dance club.
The Long Island City-based company has not selected a brokerage firm yet, Valiotis said.
Alma does not yet have a building permit in place, but has the necessary approval to begin demolition and to correct any code violations, according to the city Buildings Department website.
The previous owner, which sold to Alma in 2011, had proposed a 19-story, 900-room dorm complex for graduate students.
The brokerage firm that handled the sale said at the time a university was interested in opening a campus on the property after the dorm plan was squashed.
Valiotis said Alma still plans to build a university campus on the property and hopes the school will be up and running in five years.
He envisions a campus with classroom and amphitheater space and even a museum.
Civic leaders say Queens Plaza South, where new eateries have been popping up with the uptick in foot traffic, needs more retail space. Storefronts have not kept pace with the influx of residential units in the once heavily industrial area, some residents said.
“I don’t think anybody would be unhappy about that,” said Dutch Kills Civic Association President Jerry Walsh, referring to the proposed complex at 30-30 Northern Blvd. “It brings life into our community.”
George Stamatiades, the civic association’s executive director, said it was further proof that rezoning the area has helped transform Long Island City.
“It’s terrific. We need the development, we need the retail,” he said. “The community has now blossomed and is ready to go.”
