Rendering of 36-20 Steinway St. (AS-SOBA.)
Aug. 19, 2019 By Shane O’Brien
Developers have broken ground on a six-story, 143-unit building on the site of the former Western Beef supermarket on Steinway Street.
JMH Development and the Mettle Property Group recently began construction on the 36-20 Steinway St. site that is located at the northwest corner of Northern Boulevard and Steinway Street.
The 158,000 square foot project includes 18,000 square foot of retail space on the ground floor, along with 143 residential units.
Former Western Beef supermarket at 36-20 Steinway St. in 2014
The building will also feature several amenities, including a fully equipped fitness center, a furnished residential lobby, a parking lot, several shared recreational spaces and a 24-hour attended lobby.
Retail space at the base of the project is currently being marketed, while residential leasing is slated for spring 2021, although that is subject to change.
The developers initially planned to build a 289-key hotel at the site, but opted for a residential project after evaluating the supply of hotel rooms in the area and determining there was not a need.
The site is located in close proximity to the 36th Street subway station and is also close to the Museum of the Moving Image and the Kaufman Studio.
The project is designed by Manhattan-based architecture firm SLCE, with interiors designed by Lauren Jayne Design, an interior design studio located in Manhattan.
36-20 Steinway St., the former Western Beef supermarket location slated for residential development. (Feb. 2018)
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23 Comments
Apartments are like cars. There is a wide range to choose from and we should choose what we can afford. I love fast cars but ive never walked into a ferrari dealer as much as i would like to. And if i started yelling , “hey inconsiderate bloodsuckers ? Why dont you build FAST EXOTIC cars that I can AFFORD !!??” somehow i dont think much would change. I would still have to settle for something less.
Now.
Its unfortunate if you get priced out of a neighborhood especially if you grew up there or spent a good portion of your life there. But there are many unfortunate events in life, “unfortunately”, life isnt always a walk in astoria park. If you cant afford to live in astoria you can live somewhere else. You will be fine, you can still take the train or an uber and hang out in the neighborhood to your hearts desire. But before you continue winning and complaining to the tune of the worlds smallest violin, imagine how ridiculous it would sound if you saw someone screaming in the lamborghini dealer to build a car for 35k ! You might think that person indeed has a sickness. Do any of you have a sickness ?
To the ‘person’ who says to change your life so you can afford to live here:
I was born and raised in Astoria. I paid my way through college and have worked every day of my life since I was 15. I’m now 54 and unemployed for the first time in my life. I’ve applied to close to 100 jobs since I was laid off in March. I’m working 3 part-time jobs to pay my bills because I can’t even get an interview thanks to everything being online and no opportunity to make real contact w/people.
More affordable housing is needed in this area. If my apartment wasn’t rent stabilized, I’d be in a lot of trouble. Why should people born and raised here have to leave? Developers absolutely should build more affordable housing in Astoria. More luxury rentals are the last thing we need. And a little more compassion on your part wouldn’t hurt you either.
Diane-I am in the very same spot as you. I was born and raised in Sunnyside. I worked as a paperboy, A&P stock boy, a courier at a Japanese Courier service in LIC and front desk clerk at a Manhattan hotel all before graduating college. I recently got laid off from an insurance company (position moved to India). I am 56 years old and find the new hiring methods alarming and ripe for identity theft. I have interviewed with people supposedly in Mumbai, Toronto and London all asking for personal information. I actually hung up on a number of these interviews because of uneasiness. I have had some success with LinkedIn. I am sick of young idealists who have been working for four or five years thinking they’ve been through it all. Good luck to you.
Good luck to you Joe. And you’re right about the identity theft possibility. I was recently almost the victim of an online job scam. Luckily I realized what was happening before any damage was done. My best tip for job hunting: talk to everyone and anyone you know or meet. I managed to find three good part-time jobs that way. It was tough early on working 3 jobs, but they all paid fairly well and got me moving again. Now I’m working just one of them, but it’s a decent, steady gig that pays more than unemployment and is keeping me afloat. But just talk to people and reach out to anyone you can think of. Old friends, former coworkers (I’ve contacted people I worked with 20 – 30 years ago). The majority are usually happy to reconnect and while they may not have a job for you, they may have a lead, advice, etc. Good luck!
How much of this development will be “affordable” housing?
I hope there is no “affordable” housing. If someone can’t afford to live in a neighborhood, move to where you can afford to live. Simple as that. And if you want to live in a better neighborhood, then change your life so you can afford to live there.
Try getting an education so that you can get a better job. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who consider themselves victims and don’t even try. They expect the government to take care of them.
your comment is wrong and uneducated.
I know a lot of teachers who have masters degrees and they can’t afford to live in a lot of these new developments. Educated, hard working UNDERPAID people.
Teachers knowingly chose a profession where people are not paid well. They have only themselves to blame if they can’t afford a decent place to live. Life owes you nothing. We all live with the consequences of our decisions.
I agree. Teachers are a complete drag on society. They’re paid low salaries because they provide next to no benefit. Forcing today’s teachers to live further and further from the City will hopefully send a message to anyone thinking of becoming a teacher to think twice. If this happens maybe, just maybe, we can finally rid society of this bottom-feeding profession. To which I say good riddance.
Choices- Some May say you’re the fool, willing to over pay for something. A sucker is born every minute. You will live with the consequences of paying too much for housing. Mark my words, people with your idealistic high and mighty attitude have been around since the dawn of time and have always had rude awakenings. Only nobody will feel for you. Enjoy your inevitable fall.
What is your line of work big mouth ?? Where are the 60000 -100000. Jobs
I think your comment is right. I grew up in Ravenswood because before I came along, my parents lived in Brooklyn but couldn’t afford an apartment there. I loved where I grew up. My dad worked 2 jobs and even when money was tight, my parents refused to go on welfare or food stamps. We ate a lot of spaghetti, I didn’t have the latest sneakers and would brown bag my lunch to school.
Finish the story … you used that money to go to college and now you have a career?
Your smug behind will be one of those people you snub your nose at, when this next recession its and that portfolio bottoms out.
That is the most judgmental, uninformed statement I have ever read. I have a Masters Degree and barely make enough to pay my nearly $1700/month rent. Having entered numerous housing lotteries in this city for “affordable” housing, I can tell you “affordable” doesn’t mean cheap, and the units are typically split between people making approximately 30% of mean income and 130% of mean income. So basically that means, someone making $100k/year who happens to fit all the other criteria can actually qualify for an “affordable” apartment, while I do not because at ~$50k/year, I apparently make too much money to fit into the criteria for a single person living alone.
Creating more ‘affordable’ housing make actually help to increase the unaffordability of other housing.
If there are systematic issues that make people unable to afford housing, those issues need to be addressed. For example, if teachers are not paid enough to afford their housing, then let’s address that issue with the state/city.
Interesting that they didn’t use their legal square footage to build taller to get what must be some pretty outstanding views.
Looks like it will be a nice addition to south Astoria/north LIC.
Just what Queens needs. More people and even more crowded trains. How much of a tax break are they getting?
NIMBYs:
“There are too many people here! No more housing!”
Also NIMBYs:
“Housing is too expensive!”
People need places to live. If you want to be homeless, then go ahead.
And you think this new building will be something locals can afford? I think not! How about building some affordable housing and not these overpriced boxes.
Yes I do think locals can afford it. If you live there, you are a local and you can afford it.
What is affordable? Give me some specific numbers.
Yes the homeless that sleep on the steps of the Broadway library will be filling out applications for 2 bedroom apartments