Located less than ten minutes from Midtown Manhattan, Long Island City (LIC) is an ideal location for your back-office needs. LIC is particularly attractive to companies with a substantial Midtown presence, in particular those that are interested in reducing their occupancy costs.

The area was rezoned in 2001 to allow for substantial mixed-use development (up to 11 million square feet). What was once a collection of large industrial buildings and parking lots is fast becoming an edgy office market bordered by galleries, art museums and a burgeoning residential community.

LIC Core: Queens Plaza & Court Square
Two primary districts – Queens Plaza and Court Square – make up the 37-block LIC Core, with Jackson Avenue serving as the main thoroughfare connecting the two. East of the Core, many large, former industrial buildings are being repositioned for office use. They provide a low-price alternative (low to mid twenty's per SF) to the newer, Class A buildings that are more typical in the LIC Core.

Many high-profile companies have already discovered the benefits of Long Island City.  They include: 

• Citigroup
• HSBC
• MetLife 
• Silvercup Studios
• UNFCU 

Several companies have recently signed long-term lease committments in LIC including, Collins Building Services, The Fortune Society, Net-A-Porter, Tourneau,  and Unique Settings of New York, among others.

Arts & Media in Long Island City
Long Island City is home to dozens of arts and media organizations and several media and art related developments are under consideration.  One proposal involves the development of a dramatic, new, two million SF mixed-use campus that will include soundstages, 650,000 SF of commercial and retail space and add1,000 units of housing to the East River waterfront. Art institutions P.S.1, MoMA and the Sculpture Center all have a presence in the district as well.

Residential Development
Residential development continues to thrive in the LIC Core.  Two large residential buildings opened in late 2007.

• echelon
  Located on Jackson Avenue, the building contains 54 luxury residences, 75% percent of which have been sold.
• Arris Lofts
  This complex will transform 450,000 SF of manufacturing space into 237 luxury condominiums. 82 percent of the units have already been sold, and 17 units have been set aside for artist live/work studios.

Nearly 4,000 units have been added or will be coming on line within the commercial core.  Approximately 1,500 units within the LIC Core will go on the market in the next two years.  Another 7,000 units are planned for the greater LIC area.

Several other well-established residential neighborhoods also surround the Core, including Hunter’s Point and Sunnyside. Newer, growing communities in the area include Queens West, along the East River. It boasts more than 4,300 new units of housing.

The LIC Core is easy to access via a variety of transportation options:

• Seven convenient subway lines: 7, E, V, G, N, R & W
• Long Island Rail Road at the Hunter’s Point Station, with a second station planned in the near future
• Numerous bus lines including 19A, 39, 67 & 101R
• Ferry landing at Queens West provides service to Midtown, Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn

Long Island City's Central Business District is considered part of the Northwest Queens submarket, which consists of 4.4 million SF of office space. 3.1 million SF of that space is designated as Class A.

• Vacancy Rates
  Vacancy rates for the area at the end of the first quarter were 5.0 percent, with a 4.0 percent vacancy rate for Class A space. There is nearly 502,000 square feet of Class A space currently available and over  490,000 square feet are under construction.
• Average Asking Rents
  Average asking rents for the overall submarket are $26.40 per SF, with Class A office rates at $34.00 per SF, according to CoStar Property. Rents for new Class A construction are expected to be in the low to mid-$40’s per SF, before incentives.

Court Square Place, which opened in January 2007, is 100 percent leased. Directly across the street from Court Square Place, Citigroup Tower Phase II opened in October 2007. The 505,000 SF Class A tower is occupied exclusively by Citigroup.

The following companies recently committed to the Long Island City area:

• Fortune Society
Lease for 45,000 SF at 29-76 Northern Boulevard
• Mezco Toyz
Lease for 16,000 SF at 21-09 Borden Avenue
• Net-A-Porter
  Lease for 52,379 SF for office and distribution at 30-00 47^th Avenue (LIC Business Center)
• New York Public Library
Lease for 165,000 SF at 31-11 Thomson Avenue
• Quadlogic Controls
  Lease for 33,000 SF at 33-00 Northern Boulevard
• Tourneau Inc.
  Lease for 27,250 SF at 31-00 47^th Avenue (Falchi Building)
• Unique Settings of New York
  Lease for 32,000 SF at the 31-00 47th Avenue (Falchi Building)

Nearly $50 million in City, State and Federal funds have been secured to further improve the LIC Core and the surrounding area.

Queens Plaza Re-imagined
Work is scheduled to commence in Spring 2008 on the $32 million reconstruction of Queens Plaza. This project will create the following:

• More open space for public enjoyment 
• Better roadway design with reconfigured traffic patterns 
• Streetscape improvements 
• Enhanced pedestrian access

Jackson Avenue Expanded
Scheduled for Summer 2008 is a $17 million upgrade to Jackson Avenue. The redeveloped Jackson Avenue will be more pedestrian-friendly, with a boulevard that connects Court Square to Queens Plaza. The area will feature:

• New sidewalks 
• Landscaped medians 
• More lighting, street furniture and artistic elements

Many development projects have already been planned or are currently underway in Long Island City.

Commercial Office Projects 

Several development sites are ready or nearly assembled for future development, including:

• Queens West
A 75-acre, $2.3 billion mixed-use development located at Hunters Point.  As planned, the Quenns West project will house 6,400 residential units, 2.3 million SF of office space, 225,000 SF of retail space, two elementary schools and parking for over 5,000 vehicles.  A 20-acre park system, uniquely designed to service the developments recreational needs, is interspersed among the development parcels.
• Gotham Center
  Tishman Speyer to develop up to 1.5 million SF in Queens Plaza on what are today a municipal parking garage and a collection of industrial buildings.  Demolition of the garage has begun for Phase I, and in Phase II the opportunity exists to develop an additional 1.5 million SF at a nearby site.  Groundbreaking is scheduled for Fall 2008. 
• North 30
  Opportunity to create as much as 650,000 SF of mixed-use space at 30-30 Northern Boulevard between 40^th Avenue and 40^th Road.   As proposed, the $300 million development will house 200,000 SF of academic space, residential space, and an 800-seat auditorium.  Project to be developed by E.J. Minskoff Equities and completion is scheduled for late 2009. 
• 24-02 43rd Avenue  
Opportunity to create more than 580,000 SF of mixed-use space in Court Square. Project to be developed by Rockrose Realty.

A number of City and State incentives are helping to attract tenants to LIC. Business income tax credits, rent reductions, real estate tax savings and energy discounts are just some of the benefits available to businesses in the area.

The estimated savings from the following as-of-right programs can total $15 per SF or more per year. (See table below for sample benefits calculation.)

Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP)

• Annual credit against City business tax of up to $3,000 per employee for companies that relocate from outside NYC or from Manhattan below 96th Street
• Benefits are available for up to 12 years, refundable for first five
• Benefits are available for all jobs moved and created over the first five years, up to the greater of 100 and twice the initial number of employees
• Company must have been operating for 24 months before the start of the tax year during which it relocated
• Minimum required investment of $25 per SF on leased space, or the building must be improved by 50 percent of its appraised value

To apply, download this REAP Application (PDF) maintained by nyc.gov.

Commercial Expansion Program (CEP)
A credit of up to $2.50 per SF per year for five years is available to tenants signing qualifying leases in pre-1999 buildings with at least 25,000 SF of floor area. To be eligible for the program, minimum lease terms and investments are required as indicated below:

• Minimum lease term must be (a) three years if 125 people or fewer will be employed in the premises; or (b) 10 years if more than 125 people will be employed in the premises
• Minimum investment level must be at least (a) $2.50 per SF for leases of less than 10 years and for renewal leases of 10 years or more that include newly leased space; (b) $5.00 per SF for renewal leases of 10 years or more involving only previously occupied space; and (c) $25.00 per SF for new and expansion leases of 10 years or more

To apply, download this CEP Application (PDF) maintained by nyc.gov.

Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program (ICIP)

• Partial exemption from increases in real property tax that would otherwise result from construction or renovation of commercial buildings
• Minimum expenditures required
• Benefits depend on location of property

To apply, download the ICIP Application (PDF) maintained by nyc.gov.

Energy Cost Savings Program (ECSP)

• 12-year program providing discounts of up to 45 percent on delivery portion of electric and gas bills
• To qualify, building must be receiving ICIP benefits or be leased from the NYCIDA, City of New York or certain other public agencies

To apply, download the ECSP Application (PDF) maintained by nyc.gov.

Average Annual Savings of $15.92/SF*
We’ve made some sample calculations to illustrate potential savings afforded by select financial incentives. The table below is provided as an example only. Actual savings vary on case-by-case basis.

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Total Savings After 5 Years
LMREAP	$270,000	$270,000	$270,000	$270,000	$270,000	$1,350,000
CRP	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000	$33,333	$16,667	$200,000
LMEP	$8,400	$8,400	$8,400	$8,400	$8,400	$42,000
Combined Incentive Savings	$328,400	$328,400	$328,400	$311,733	$295,067	$1,592,000
Annual Savings per SF	$16.42	$16.42	$16.42	$15.92	$14.75	$15.92

* Example in table assumes: 90 employees; 20,000 SF leased space; per SF real estate tax of $2.50; per SF electricity cost of $2.80; and annual NYC business income tax liability of $45,000.