Skyline Tower (Queens) Explained

Skyline Tower
Former Names:Court Square City View Tower
Status:Completed
Location:23-15 44th Drive
Long Island City, NY 11101
Coordinates:40.748°N -73.9445°W
Start Date:2017
Completion Date:2021
Building Type:Residential
Roof:778feet
Floor Count:67
Floor Area:762000square feet
Cost:$700 million
Architect:Hill West Architects
Developer:Risland US Chris Xu and United Construction & Development Group

Skyline Tower, previously known as Court Square City View Tower, is a residential skyscraper in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City.[1] The building topped out in October 2019, surpassing One Court Square to become the tallest building in Queens at 762feet.[2] For two years, it was also the tallest building on Long Island; in October 2021, the building was surpassed in height when the Brooklyn Tower topped out.[3] It was completed in July 2021.

Architecture

History

Citigroup had controlled the site since the 1980s, having taken ownership of it during the development of One Court Square and the smaller Two Court Square. Though Citi had planned a third office tower on the site, by 2015 the company decided it did not need the potential space and that the land was more valuable as a development site.[5] As a result, Citi hired JLL to market the site and several months later sold the parcel to Flushing, Queens-based developer Chris Xu for $143 million.[6]

In February 2016, permits were initially filed for a 79-story tower that would reach a height of 963feet.[7] However, due to Long Island City's proximity to LaGuardia Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration ruled that the building could rise no higher than 762feet without posing a threat to landing airplanes.[8] As a result, the development was downsized to its current height of 762feet. In September 2016, developer Chris Jiashu Xu refinanced the development site with a $100 million loan from the Bank of China.[9]

Foundation work at the site began in late 2017. In July 2018, the developers secured $502 million in financing from a consortium of banks led by JPMorgan Chase, the largest-ever financing for a private real estate development in Queens.[10] [11] By the end of 2018, foundation work was complete and the building had risen to the sixth floor.[12] The project launched sales in May 2019, targeting a sellout of over $1 billion, a record for Queens.[13] The building topped-out in October 2019.

The Skyline Tower was finished in July 2021. The building's developers had added an elevator at the Court Square–23rd Street station and were planning another elevator in the future.[14] Half the condos at the building had been sold by September 2021.[15] [16] During the year, the Skyline Tower had sold more units than any other luxury development in the city.[17] By June 2024, nine-tenths of the apartments had been sold.[18]

Controversies

In July 2022, ninety buyers of units within Skyline Tower filed a complaint with the New York Attorney General that the building's success had been exaggerated to prospective buyers, citing year-end financial statements displaying only 42 percent occupancy versus the 60 percent occupancy claimed by the building's sales and marketing agent. The brokerage disputed their assertion, stating that the 60 percent figure included units under contract.[19]

Beyond the alleged misrepresentation of sales numbers, owners have complained of incomplete construction, delayed repairs, flooding, structural defects, and a lack of amenities. The original complaint also referred to flyers circulated by building staff who were demanding fair pay and benefits.

During its construction, in 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority implicated the Skyline Tower's developers after the Court Square subway station flooded. The localized deluge, which nearly swept one passenger onto the tracks, was caused by the collapse of a plywood construction wall following a rainstorm.[20]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Skyline Tower . February 2, 2019 . The Skyscraper Center . https://web.archive.org/web/20190202005640/http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/court-square-city-view-tower/23586 . February 2, 2019 . . live .
  2. Web site: Tallest skyscraper in Queens tops out at 778 feet. Ricciulli. Valeria. October 11, 2019. Curbed NY. January 27, 2020.
  3. Web site: Young. Michael. October 29, 2021. YIMBY Scopes Views From SHoP's Topped-Out 'Brooklyn Tower' At 9 DeKalb Avenue In Downtown Brooklyn. New York YIMBY. October 29, 2021.
  4. News: Interest in Court Square Condo Spikes Thanks to Amazon. Margolies. Jane. December 27, 2018. The New York Times. June 24, 2019.
  5. News: Citigroup looks to sell massive LIC development site. Maurer. Mike. The Real Deal. February 23, 2015. June 24, 2019.
  6. News: Citigroup sells LIC site to Queens developer for $143M. The Real Deal. July 8, 2015. Moses. Claire. June 24, 2019.
  7. News: 79-Story Tower Planned At 23-15 44th Drive In Long Island City. New York YIMBY. February 8, 2016. June 24, 2019. Rebecca. Baird-Remba.
  8. News: Revealed: 66-Story, 802-Unit Mixed-Use Tower Planned At 23-15 44th Drive, Long Island City. New York YIMBY. Wilson. Reid. January 9, 2017. June 24, 2019.
  9. News: Flushing developer refis LIC skyscraper project with $100M from Bank of China. Putzier. Konrad. September 1, 2016. The Real Deal. June 24, 2019. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20190809153849/https://therealdeal.com/2016/09/01/flushing-developer-refis-lic-skyscraper-project-with-100m-from-bank-of-china/. August 9, 2019.
  10. News: Soaring Condo Project Coming to Long Island City. Morris. Keiko. July 8, 2018. The Wall Street Journal. June 24, 2019.
  11. News: Slowey . Kim . $500M loan granted for tallest tower in Queens, New York . May 1, 2019 . Construction Dive . July 10, 2018.
  12. News: Long Island City's Future Tallest Skyscraper, Skyline Tower, Now Rising Above Street Level. New York YIMBY. December 9, 2018. Young. Michael. June 24, 2019.
  13. News: Queens's tallest residential tower launches sales. Curbed NY. May 2, 2019. Ricciulli. Valeria. June 24, 2019.
  14. Web site: Young. Michael. July 26, 2021. Skyline Tower Completes Construction in Long Island City, Queens. February 21, 2022. New York YIMBY. en-US.
  15. Web site: Skyline Tower, Queen's tallest skyscraper, is now 50% sold. February 21, 2022. New York Business Journal. September 28, 2021. Robinson. Leonard A..
  16. Web site: Wong . Kayla . Tallest skyscraper in Queens sells 50% of its luxury units . QNS.com . October 4, 2021 . February 21, 2022.
  17. Web site: Acevedo . Angélica . Skyline Tower is best selling building in NYC . QNS.com . December 31, 2021 . February 21, 2022.
  18. Web site: Skyline Tower in LIC reaches new price per square foot record, 90% of units now sold . LIC Post . June 25, 2024 . June 26, 2024.
  19. News: Jones . Sasha . Some Skyline Tower condo owners say they were deceived . November 28, 2022 . The Real Deal . October 11, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221011110622/https://therealdeal.com/2022/10/11/some-skyline-tower-condo-owners-say-they-were-deceived/ . October 11, 2022.
  20. News: Cohen . Michelle . Deluge of dirty water from construction site next door floods Queens subway station . November 28, 2022 . 6sqft . July 19, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190722125033/https://www.6sqft.com/deluge-of-dirty-water-from-construction-site-next-door-floods-queens-subway-station/ . July 22, 2019.