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As seen in
New York Business
October 15 - 21, 2001
SPECIAL REPORT COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE:
To reach Long Island City, a short trip but a long wait
Design contest aims to boost image
by DANIEL GROSS
This month, instead of heading to midtown Manhattan, several
hundred employees of MetLife Inc. are hitting the F train, the
Queensboro Bridge and Northern Boulevard to get to their new
offices in a former carriage factory in Long Island City, Queens.
The move would seem to validate a point made in a report this
summer by a special commission known as the Group of 35: that
with its great transportation network, low rents and available
space, Long Island City could evolve into a 15-million-square-foot
commercial center. New city tax and zoning incentives should
help.
Indeed, MetLife ultimately plans to move up to 1,000 employees
into its new building.
But MetLife is only the second large company to emigrate to
Long Island City in 13 years, following in Citigroup's footsteps.
There are solid reasons why it's taken 13 years-and why even
the attacks on the World Trade Center have not spurred a rush
by displaced firms.
Long Island City is low on finished space, amenities and ambience.
Nor is the arrival of MetLife likely to change that.
"There are development sites available, but they are all a few
years away from getting built," says David Brause, vice president
of Brause Realty Inc., which owns the MetLife building in Queens.
Crisscrossed by eight subway lines plus four major roads, Long
Island City has been trying to transform itself from a traffic-clogged
warren of elevated subway tracks, warehouses, factories and
storage facilities into an office hub. It has about 3 million
square feet of Class A office space now.
New incentives
In July, the City Council approved a rezoning
plan that would permit the construction of high-rise commercial
office buildings in a 37-block swath. In addition, New York
City's Relocation Employment Assistance Program offers companies
a 12-year tax credit of up to $3,000 per employee annually when
they move staff from Manhattan to the other boroughs.
"There are a lot of buildings there that have been converted
that can accommodate these companies for less than half of what
they would pay in Manhattan," says James Meiskin, president
of Plymouth Partners Ltd.
Michael Bailkin, a principal at the Arete
Group, who helped put together Brooklyn's MetroTech project,
is eager to build. His group controls two sites totaling 125,000
square feet that could accommodate large office towers across
from MetLife.
"The big difficulty has always been the lack of restaurants,
coffee shops, copier places, bars where people can take a two-block
stroll after work and grab a beer with colleagues," says Jonathan
Bowles, research director of the Center for an Urban Future.
Rather than wait for these bars and bistros to arrive, MetLife
put in its own amenities. Of course, that reduces the incentive
for future bars and bistros to open up.
Do-it-yourself
"The area didn't have certain things that
we need for our associates," says Marge Kelly, the insurer's
vice president for facilities. The company is installing a cafeteria,
a fitness center, conference facilities, an ATM and a newsstand.
The lack of amenities is indicative of a larger problem: "Long
Island City has a gritty, industrial look," says Gayle Baron,
executive director of the Long Island City Business Development
Corp.
To counter that image, business groups are considering creating
a Business Improvement District around Queens Plaza. The Van
Allen Institute for the Advancement of Enterprise Zones has
solicited design ideas and is expected to announce the results
this month.
But there are no funds from the city or civic groups for implementing
the winning designs. Unlike other parts of New York, Long Island
City isn't counting on a kick-start from the post-Sept. 11 search
for space.
"On the one hand, there is an extreme space shortage now," says
Mr. Bailkin. "But there's a major uncertainty, and a lot of
companies are rethinking their long-term plans. It could go
either way."
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