Overview

Downtown Jamaica is New York City’s gateway to the world. Best known as an established transit hub, it boasts an extensive transportation network that provides easy access to Manhattan, Long Island, and Downtown Brooklyn. Since the 2003 opening of the $350-million AirTrain Terminal, Jamaica is only an eight-minute rail ride from JFK International Airport. The AirTrain / Jamaica Station complex is served by nine LIRR lines and three subway lines (E, J and Z) with additional subway service provided by the F train at nearby Parsons Boulevard. Jamaica is already home to a variety of educational, government, healthcare, and corporate institutions. Among these are CUNY’s York College, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s regional headquarters and laboratory, the Queens Family, Civil and Supreme Courts, and the headquarters for the Long Island Rail Road.

View the Downtown Jamaica Central Business District Summary 

Office Market

Thanks to a significant rezoning in 2007, as well as investment in key public improvements, Downtown Jamaica is poised for commercial growth. In particular, the area around Jamaica Station has been targeted for high-density commercial and residential development.

Three million workers live within a 45-minute commuting distance to Downtown Jamaica, and more than 300,000 regional, national, and international travelers pass through the area each day. Over half a million people live, work, or use Downtown Jamaica’s commercial, educational, governmental, and transportation services on a daily basis.

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Available Commercial Incentives

• Commercial Expansion Program (CEP)
• Energy Cost Savings Program (ECSP)
• Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program (ICAP)
• Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP)
• See www.nyc.gov/businessexpress for more information about incentive programs

Office Market Snapshot¹

Class B Office Space¹

Class C Office Space¹

1. Data gathered from CoStar 

Retail Market

Hundreds of thousands of people use Downtown Jamaica’s commercial, educational, government and transportation services on a daily basis, providing the critical mass necessary for a thriving retail community. Downtown Jamaica also has a rich cultural history and an active cultural community centered on music, food, and the arts. Once home to legendary Jazz and R&B greats, Jamaica remains a destination center for musical performances and production. It is home to the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL), the Cultural Collaborative Jamaica (CCJ), the York College Performing Arts Center, and the newly established Jamaica Performing Arts Center (JPAC), located in a landmark building on Jamaica Avenue. Together, these institutions offer a variety of cultural and arts programs including professional performances, art exhibitions, and free concerts.

Three Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) operate in the area — the Jamaica Avenue BID, the 165th Street BID, and the Sutphin Boulevard BID — providing additional sanitation, security and marketing services and responding to business interests.

Demographics¹

Current Retail Environment²

1. Data gathered from Demographics Now
2. Data gathered from Demographics Now and CoStar 

Who's Here

• Home Depot
• Marshall’s
• Nine West
• Old Navy
• Bank of America
• Zales
• The Children’s Place
• Bally’s Total Fitness
• GAP
• Verizon Wireless
• Jimmy Jazz
• Dr. Jay’s
• Strawberry
• Ashley Stewart
• Applebee’s

Large Scale Development Activity

Moda

The renovation by the Dermot Company transformed the former Queens Family Courthouse into a 346-unit residential, retail, and community complex with public parking.

• Cost: $194 million
• Use: Residential / retail / commercial
• Status: Completed

Yorkside Tower Housing

Completed in 2005 by the Ciampa Organization, the 180-unit Yorkside Towers were the first market-rate rental housing structures built in Downtown Jamaica in 30 years.

• Use: Residential
• Status: Completed

Atlantic Avenue Extension and Gateway Project

This project will extend Atlantic Avenue and connect it with 95th Avenue, creating a new gateway to Downtown and a public park. It will improve traffic patterns by enhancing streetscape, landscaping, and signage for users entering the Station Area.

• Use: Transportation
• Status: Planning

Station Plaza

This project will realign Archer Avenue in order to create a safe inter-modal transfer for passengers using the bus and transit systems by creating new public plazas, transit-supportive retail concessions, wider sidewalks, and decreased traffic congestion.

• Use: Transportation
• Status: Planning

Sutphin Boulevard Underpass

This project will create a more attractive street level pedestrian experience in the passage running below the Long Island Rail Road, directly across from the new AirTrain terminal. It will add 5,500 square feet of retail space to serve local employees and residents.

• Cost: $19 million
• Use: Retail
• Status: Construction (expected completion in 2011)

Jamaica Ave Lighting / Hillside Ave Streetscape

The NYC Dept of Transportation is investing in major improvements along Jamaica and Hillside Avenue. Work will improve lighting and pedestrian traffic, as well as overall neighborhood character.

• Cost: $10.5 million
• Use: Pedestrian improvements
• Status: Construction (expected completion in 2011)

Jamaica Performing Arts Center

The Jamaica Performing Arts Center is an 18,300 square foot premier performance complex housed within the historic First Reformed Dutch Church of Jamaica. The 400-seat multipurpose theater and rehearsal and workshop spaces were completed in 2008 after an $18 million renovation of the landmark church.

• Cost: $18 million
• Use: Cultural
• Status: Completed

Downtown Jamaica Map