New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week unveiled a master plan for large-scale development in Willets Point in the borough of Queens, but details on the financing haven’t been worked out, said Jorge Montalvo, spokesman for the New York City Economic Development Corp.
Montalvo said the city is looking at all possible financing options, including the sale of tax-exempt debt.
The proposal would create 5,500 units of affordable housing, 500,000 square feet of office space, one million square feet of retail space, parks, and a convention center and hotel.
The convention center would be mid-sized and not compete with the much larger Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, Montalvo said.
The 60-acre area is largely home to auto repair shops, and some local business owners have raised objections to the proposal that could force them out through eminent domain, although the EDC plans to offer relocation assistance. The development would require environmental remediation of petroleum contamination. The area would need to be rezoned and the city expects to select a developer and begin acquiring property in 2008 and for environmental remediation to begin in 2010.
