Citigroup Will Sell Site to Feed Long Island City’s Growing Skyline

Long Island City‘s most recognizable tenant is about to sell a prime piece of property in the heart of the neighborhood. According to the New York Times, the financial giant is putting up a one-acre development site, bound by 44th Road, 23rd Street and 44th Drive in Court Square, and it could fetch up to $150 million. Court Square’s proximity to Manhattan and plentiful transit has made the enclave one of Queens’ most sought-after areas for residential development. Mayor de Blasio is all for the sale and has plans of his own to rezone LIC to spur even more construction.

Edward Skyler, a spokesman for Citigroup, told the Times, “Given the direction of our real estate footprint and the city’s need for housing, we believe that this site has great potential that can be unlocked. Under the current zoning for the site, a developer could build a 40-story tower with hotel, retail, apartment or office space.

The sale is also another sign of Citigroup’s diminishing presence in New York City. The bank entered LIC with the hopes of turning it into a commercial center. The idea never took and they eventually sold their 50-story building—the green-glassed One Court Square—for $470 million in 2005. They also parted ways with a second neighboring development (erected as part of an agreement with the city) as a way to cut losses. The bank does, however, still house about 4,800 employees in One Court Square.

LIC is certainly seeing a boom in both construction and interest from buyers and renters looking for a better deal. This new project will join the more than two dozen high-rise developments underway in the Court Square/Queens Plaza hub, all shaping the new Queens skyline.

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Towers on the rise in Court Square. Image via CityRealty