Tishman Speyer’s 1.1M SF LIC Mixed-Use Project To Start Construction

Tishman Speyer CEO Rob Speyer (left) announced the company will finally start constructing a 1.1M SF Long Island City office/retail project.

Despite not even breaking ground, the building already has 800k SF of available office space pre-leased, with WeWork taking a 250k SF chunk. It will be WeWork’s second and largest location in the borough. When completed in 2019, the two 27-story, Raul De Armas-designed towers will be connected by a four-story podium featuring a mix of retail, a food hall, a restaurant and a parking garage.

The announcement marks the completion of Tishman Speyer’s 1.8M SF of development rights that it purchased from NYC in 2003. The other 700k SF is in an office building the developer built in 2011 and pre-leased to the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. It also marks the completion of NYC’s plan to turn the LIC site into a center of the innovation economy. Deputy Mayor of Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen believes the project with be a major job generator for Long Island City.

Now the largest commercial and residential developer in LIC—with more than 1,900 units under construction on Jackson Avenue and 3.5M SF of development since its purchase in 2003—Tishman Speyer is working with Qatari sovereign fund Qatari Diar. Its European & Americas chief Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani believed the development would set the standard for mixed-use developments.

The financing will be provided by the Bank of the Ozarks after being arranged by HFF.