The long planned Star Tower at 27-17 42nd Road has finally risen above street level. In 2008, a hotel was proposed for the site but now, Eastern Star Development is constructing a 26-story residential tower. The building will bring 184 condo units to the emerging Queens Plaza area in Long Island City. Joseph Sultana of JLS Designs Architecture & Planning is the designer of the tower, which is distinguished by a planted roof deck, a curved glass corner at 28th Street and 42nd Road, and a slick glass skin.
The site originally hosted a dignified commercial building built from 1919 which featured a beige brick façade and a stone portico entrance. In 2007, it was torn down by Roe Development who commissioned DeArch LLC to design a tall, L-shaped high-rise with 400 hotel rooms and five-star services. Those plans were abandoned after the "Great Recession."
In 2014, Eastern Star Development purchased the 13,500-square-foot lot for $44 million, and commissioned JLS to redesign the tower. Hiwin USA currently owns the building and tapped Milestone Construction for the project. In March, the perimeter basement wall was complete and the interior foundation was underway. Now, construction has surpassed street level and is rising past the first floor.
Star Tower's 184 residences are split between one and two bedroom homes; 75% are one-bedrooms and 25% are two-bedrooms. The building will amass 221,266 square feet which includes two retail spaces with parking at the ground level. The high-rise will top out at 258 feet, making only a small imprint on the burgeoning Long Island City skyline. Construction is expected to finish in late 2017.
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