What's Being Built in Astoria? Innovation QNS Rebuilt Piece by Piece, the Halletts Waterfront & a Power Plant Row Going Green
Hush Street tracks what's changing in Astoria: Steinway Crossing and the towers filed on the former Innovation QNS site, Astoria Cove and Halletts North on the waterfront, the Variety Boys & Girls Club, new rezonings and the clean-energy projects on 20th Avenue.
17
Projects Tracked
~1,950
Apartments Filed on Former Innovation QNS Land
6
Under Construction
100 MW
Battery Under Way on 20th Avenue
Oct. 2026
Updated
Watch →Stop-Work Order at Rowan IIHalletts North Stalled
By Hush Street Editorial
What’s Changing
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DOB issued foundation and structural permits for the Variety Boys & Girls Club building.Oct. 2026
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Steinway Crossing received its structural permit after its site was cleared.Oct. 2026
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Domain Companies closed a $175.6 million loan for 429 apartments on 41st Street.Aug. 2026
Astoria’s biggest story is the break-up of Innovation QNS. The $2 billion, five-block rezoning approved in 2022 was scrapped in 2025, and its parcels are now being built separately, QNS reported: LMXD and BedRock’s 560-unit Steinway Crossing has cleared its site, and Domain Companies, EMP Capital and others have filed a run of towers around it. Many of those filings stop at 99 apartments, a size Commercial Observer has tied to the wage rules of the state’s 485-x tax break for buildings of 100 units or more.
On the Halletts peninsula, Durst finished two towers at Halletts Point in 2025, KS Group revived the long-stalled Astoria Cove and has begun leasing, and the 1,400-unit Halletts North is seeking more time on its approvals. In the north, the old power-plant complex on 20th Avenue is turning into clean-energy infrastructure, with a new transmission converter station switched on in May 2026 and a large battery under way next door.
Where DOB records and press reports disagree on heights or unit counts, both are given. A permit is not treated as proof that construction has started.
Developer/ApplicantLMXD and BedRock Real Estate Partners; Beyer Blinder Belle
ProjectA 27-story building with 560 apartments, about a quarter of them affordable under mandatory inclusionary housing according to YIMBY, on the largest piece of the former Innovation QNS site.
StatusPermitted
Latest UpdateDOB issued construction, foundation and excavation permits in July 2026 and a structural permit on Oct. 2. YIMBY reported on Oct. 22 that demolition was finished but construction equipment had not arrived; the site sign lists completion in January 2029.
A $250 Million Loan
The partners closed a $250 million construction loan from New York Life, after buying the site for $53 million, YIMBY and QNS reported.
Sources: New York YIMBY (Oct. 2026); QNS (Aug. 2026); NYC DOB NOW job Q01275800-I1 (Oct. 2026)
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35-53 and 35-42 41st Street
35-53 and 35-42 41st Street, via Google Street View. —
Imagery: Google Street View
Developer/ApplicantDomain Companies with BLDG Management and Canyon Partners; S9 Architecture
ProjectTwo buildings of 18 and 12 stories with 330 and 99 apartments, 429 in all (DOB).
StatusUnder Construction
Latest UpdateDOB issued foundation and excavation permits for both buildings in July and August 2026 and a structural permit for the smaller one on Sept. 25. A stop-work order on the foundation job in July was later dismissed.
A $175.6 Million Loan
The partners closed a $175.6 million construction loan from Wells Fargo, PincusCo reported in August 2026.
Sources: PincusCo (Aug. 2026); NYC DOB NOW jobs Q01254595-I1 and Q01254580-I1 (Sept. 2026)
3
35-17 and 35-11 42nd Street & 42-08 35th Avenue
35-17 and 35-11 42nd Street & 42-08 35th Avenue, via Google Street View. —
Imagery: Google Street View
Address/Location35-17 42nd Street, with 35-11 42nd Street and 42-08 35th Avenue
Developer/ApplicantHeartfelt Townhouse Build (DOB owner of record); YIMBY reports LMXD and BedRock bought two of the sites for $15.8 million
ProjectThree buildings of 16, 16 and 13 stories with 234 apartments in all (DOB). YIMBY described the project as a single 16-story building.
StatusUnder Construction
Latest UpdateDOB issued foundation, earthwork and structural permits for all three between Sept. 25 and Oct. 19, 2026, and YIMBY reported demolition under way.
Ownership to Be Confirmed
City filings and YIMBY name different owners; the sale has not been checked against property records.
Sources: New York YIMBY (Oct. 2026); NYC DOB NOW jobs Q01297609-I1, Q01332594-I1 and Q01288130-I1 (Oct. 2026)
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EMP Capital's Towers
EMP Capital's Towers, via Google Street View. —
Imagery: Google Street View
Address/Location37-09 36th Avenue, plus 35-43 37th St., 40-16 35th Ave., 35-08 and 35-20 41st St. and 35-13 Steinway St.
Developer/ApplicantEMP Capital Group; Issac & Stern Architects
ProjectSix buildings of 13 to 26 stories with 533 apartments in all, each with 99 or fewer (DOB). YIMBY described 37-09 36th Avenue as 198 apartments, apparently counting two sites together.
StatusPermitted
Latest UpdateDOB issued excavation-support permits for 37-09 36th Avenue on Oct. 22 and 35-43 37th Street on Oct. 19, 2026. The other four filings are still in DOB review.
Just Under 100
Commercial Observer linked the 99-unit sizes to the 485-x wage threshold.
ProjectA proposed rezoning for two buildings of 12 and 9 stories with 243 apartments, 61 of them income-restricted, plus retail and community space (ZAP). The Real Deal and Crain’s reported about 270 apartments.
StatusProposed
Latest UpdateThe application had not been certified into public review as of October 2026; its latest City Planning milestone was Oct. 20.
Next Door to the Old Plan
The block is just north of the former Innovation QNS area.
Three big plans on one peninsula, at three different stages.
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Astoria Cove
Astoria Cove, via Google Street View. —
Imagery: Google Street View
Address/Location4-34 26th Avenue, with 4-42 26th Ave., 25-02 9th St. and 8-11 26th Ave.
Developer/ApplicantKS Group and Alma Realty; JFA Architects and Fogarty Finger
ProjectThe first phase of a long-stalled waterfront plan approved in 2014. YIMBY and the housing lottery count 731 apartments in the first phase; the four DOB filings list 576, including a 26-story tower at 25-02 9th Street.
StatusUnder Construction
Latest UpdateThe first building at 4-34 26th Avenue is leasing, and its affordable lottery for 75 apartments closed in June 2026 (YIMBY). DOB issued foundation and excavation permits for the 26-story tower and 8-11 26th Avenue between May and September.
Revived After a Decade
KS Group now pitches more than 2,800 apartments across three phases. A new waterfront application was filed with City Planning in 2026.
Developer/ApplicantAstoria Owners LLC; Studio V Architecture
ProjectAbout 1,400 apartments, 335 of them affordable, approved by the City Council in September 2022 (ZAP, CityLand, QNS). The three DOB filings list 1,754 units.
StatusStalled
Latest UpdateNone of the three new-building applications filed in 2022 has a permit. Crain’s reported in July 2026 that the developer is seeking a three-year extension before its approval expires.
Developer/ApplicantThe Durst Organization (the 2013 rezoning was obtained by Lincoln Equities)
ProjectA seven-building waterfront plan of more than 2,000 apartments (Patch). The latest phase, 20 and 30 Halletts Point, added 647 apartments and was finished in 2025 (YIMBY).
StatusPhase Completed
Latest UpdateThe two towers became Astoria’s first LEED Platinum buildings, QNS reported in May 2026. No construction filings exist for the remaining three buildings; a 2024 foundation filing was withdrawn.
Developer/ApplicantVariety Boys & Girls Club of Queens; DLR Group
ProjectA new clubhouse of about 125,000 square feet with a planetarium, aquatics center and hockey rink, under a 14-story building with 236 affordable apartments, 69 of them for young people aging out of foster care (QNS, DOB).
StatusUnder Construction
Latest UpdateDOB issued earthwork, foundation, structural and excavation permits between Oct. 8 and 20, 2026, and the club says construction is under way. The clubhouse is slated to open in 2029.
A $305 Million Clubhouse
QNS reported the cost at $305 million; the Queens Ledger reported $290 million in 2025.
Developer/ApplicantHANAC and Mega Development, on HPD land; SLCE Architects
ProjectA 13-story building with 135 affordable apartments for seniors, 30 percent for formerly homeless seniors, on a city-owned former parking lot under the elevated line (HPD).
StatusApproved
Latest UpdateThe rezoning and land disposition were approved in 2025. The DOB new-building application, filed in May 2026, was in objections as of September.
Senior Housing on a City Lot
DOB’s filing lists 167 units; HPD and the developers say 135.
ProjectA proposed rezoning to replace a low-rise shopping plaza with 492 apartments, 123 of them income-restricted, and 62,000 square feet of retail (ZAP).
StatusProposed
Latest UpdateThe application was still at the filed stage at City Planning as of Oct. 23, 2026, more than a year after The Real Deal and Commercial Observer first reported it.
ProjectA seven-story condominium with 90 apartments (DOB) and a planned sellout of about $106 million in its offering plan (New York Attorney General).
StatusUnder Construction
Latest UpdateInspectors posted a stop-work order on Aug. 5, 2026 because no superintendent was on site, and issued safety violations later that month.
Stopped Over Site Safety
The building was at the exterior stage when inspected.
Developer/ApplicantPalm Tree Consulting; Nikolai Katz Architect
ProjectA nine-story building with 124 apartments, including 33 income-restricted, built after a 2022 rezoning that envisioned an eight-story, 86-unit building (DOB, ZAP).
StatusNearing Completion
Latest UpdateAn affordable lottery for the 33 apartments is listed. Inspectors still described active construction in August 2026, and in May cited work continuing under a stop-work order.
Developer/Applicant174 Power Global, under contract with Con Edison, on New York Power Authority land
ProjectA 100-megawatt battery storage facility on the former Poletti power plant site, which NYCEDC described as one-fifth of the city’s near-term storage goal.
StatusUnder Construction
Latest Update174 Power Global said in May 2025 that it was beginning construction (NYPA). No completion date has been published; its only DOB filing, in February 2026, is for fire hydrants.
The City's Largest Battery
Much of the equipment falls under state rather than city approval.
Groundbreaking at Steinway Crossing, permits for EMP Capital’s other towers, a decision on Halletts North’s extension, the start of public review for the LaGuardia Center and Schuman rezonings, and a completion date for the 20th Avenue battery are next.
