After 238 proposals and 14 months of intense speculation, Amazon recently announced the new location for their second North American headquarters in Long Island City, New York.
Why Long Island City?
Long Island City is close in proximity to New York City – offering cultural institutions, international airports, public transit options and many other benefits of a densely populated urban area. Long Island City is a recently redeveloped area along the East River in Queens, New York. It has its own enticements such as residential towers with waterfront views, art galleries including MoMA PS1 and the landscaped riverfront park. The state of New York has offered approximately $1.7 billion in subsidies and incentives to lure Amazon in.
Where in Long Island City will the Headquarters be?
Per agreements between Long Island City and Amazon, the company’s headquarters will be built on a site in the Anable Basin area, north of the Hunters Point high-rise development. The site is a mix of publicly and privately-owned buildings, and is bordered by the East River, 46th Avenue, 44th Road and Vernon Boulevard.
While many of Long Island City’s industrial areas have been replaced with shiny new residential and commercial buildings, there are still pockets of historic architecture such as the Hunter’s Point Historic District – a single-block of 2-story pre-war homes along 45th Avenue between 21st and 23rd Streets.
Who will be designing the Long Island City Headquarters?
No one knows currently. While making their decision regarding site location, Amazon worked with the Innovation Center’s development team to make sure the site listed in the agreement could be developed to meet their requirements. However, Amazon has been silent about whether or not they intend to work with this team moving forward.
The Innovation Center development team Amazon previously worked with includes:
- TF Cornerstone (developer of several residential towers near the proposed site)
- Handel Architects (architecture firm known for the design of the September 11th memorial)
- Nielsen Matthews (a landscape architect with experience designing flood-prone sites)
What are the current plans for the Headquarters?
The current plans call for an initial development of around 4 million square feet of space across multiple buildings, with the potential to expand it to 8 million square feet later on. Amazon anticipates creating as many as 40,000 new jobs for workers in the New York City area over the next 15 years.
Stay tuned for more information on this and other projects being developed around NYC. If you are looking for an architect for your own project – contact us for more information today.
