There's a lot of digging going on at the southern end of Astoria. New York YIMBY's Michael Young and Matt Pruznick checked in on seven residential projects along and below 35th Avenue, and together they'll add hundreds of new homes to the Queens neighborhood.
Here's where each one stands.
Still in the dirt
At 36-31 31st Street, between 36th and 37th Avenues, excavation and pilings are underway for a nine-story residential building. The construction board says it'll be done next fall. No unit count or architect has been made public, and the only zoning diagram on file with the Department of Buildings is an outdated version from 2015. The posted rendering shows a symmetrical building with a setback at the eighth floor, gray paneling, earth-toned brick and recessed floor-to-ceiling windows.
At 32-16 38th Avenue, at the corner of 33rd Street, crews are digging out below street level for a nine-story building designed by J. Frankl Architects. It will hold 87 condominiums averaging 1,327 square feet, plus commercial space. Foundations haven't started yet. The site sign says next summer, but YIMBY thinks the first half of 2028 is more likely.
Right next door to the south, excavation is also moving at 38-12 33rd Street, a 14-story companion building on a through lot running between 32nd and 33rd Streets. No architect is listed, though YIMBY figures J. Frankl is behind it too, given how closely it resembles its neighbor. There's no unit count yet, and the same timing applies: next summer on paper, probably the first half of 2028 in reality. Renderings show the pair sharing light-gray facades, staggered windows and plenty of balconies.
Going up
Things are further along at 37-04 34th Street, a six-story mixed-use building at the corner of 37th Avenue that has topped out. LIC Property Holdings LLC is listed as the owner. The site says it'll be finished in winter 2026, but YIMBY expects work to wrap up sometime in 2027. Renderings show a terrace at an upper corner cutout, stacks of balconies, beige and earth-toned paneling and expansive glass for the ground-floor retail.
At 31-03 37th Avenue, near 31st Street, the reinforced concrete frame of a six-story residential building is closing in on topping out, likely next month. The developer, 3103 Milo Enterprises LLC, secured a $45.6 million loan from Ponce Bank in August. The unit count hasn't been released. The info board lists completion in winter 2027, and the drawings show a garage door on the ground floor, which points to enclosed parking.
The big ones still to come
The two largest projects haven't gone vertical yet.
At 37-09 36th Avenue, at the corner of 37th Street, work hasn't started on a 26-story mixed-use tower designed by Issac & Stern Architects and developed by Elie Pariente. At 285 feet tall, it will span 243,359 square feet with 198 rental units averaging 674 square feet, along with 105,349 square feet of commercial space and 4,402 square feet of community facility space. The lot has been cleared except for two two-story homes on the southern corner, which YIMBY expects will come down in the coming months. Renderings and a completion date haven't been released.
At 35-17 42nd Street, on the block bounded by 42nd and 43rd Streets and 35th Avenue, demolition is underway for a 16-story mixed-use building, also by J. Frankl Architects. Developed by Joel Weiss of Heartfelt Townhouse Build, the 177-foot building will cover 162,468 square feet with 234 rental units averaging 684 square feet, plus 2,390 square feet of commercial space and a 20-foot rear yard. Crews are tearing up the slab left from the old low-rise building. No renderings or schedule have been released.
Adding it up
Counting only the projects with disclosed totals, that's 519 homes: 87 condos and 432 rentals. YIMBY lists no unit count for the other four, so the final number will be higher.
Why it matters for Contractors
Seven sites in one corner of one neighborhood means a long run of work for excavation, foundation, concrete, MEP, facade and finish trades. Several of these jobs are still in the ground, and the two biggest towers haven't started going up, so there's still time to get in front of these developers and architects. Just keep in mind that posted completion dates tend to be optimistic. YIMBY's own read on several of these is months later than the signs say, so plan your crews and bids around realistic schedules.