A joint venture led by L+M Development Partners has secured a $278 million construction note for Arverne East’s Building D, which is set to consist of 230 affordable rental units and 90 for-sale homes in the Queens neighborhood of Arverne in Far Rockaway, N.Y., as first reported by Commercial Observer. Completion is slated for 2028.
The Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs Alternatives was among the debt providers. Other financiers included the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Development Corp. and the New York State Homes and Community Renewal, in addition to the New York City Council and the office of the Queens Borough President.
Arverne East is a private-public partnership including HPD, the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation. On the private side, L+M’s venture also features the Bluestone Organization, Triangle Equities, Mega Group and Urbane Development. FXCollaborative Architects and Bernheimer Architecture provided design services.
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Building D will total 360,000 square feet across a 10-story structure with 17,000 square feet of commercial space throughout the first floor. The opportunity zone development will restrict its units to future residents earning up to 100 percent of the area median income.
The community will be PHIUS certified, including the implementation of solar and geothermal energy sources, providing heating, cooling and hot water service throughout the entire Arverne East property. What’s more, the master-planned neighborhood aims to achieve net zero emissions—N.Y.C.’s first to do so—and eliminate fossil fuels on site.
The project’s origin dates back to Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which pushed community leaders and developers to pursue projects that would mitigate coastal flooding damage. As a result, Averne East’s residential and commercial space is designed to rise above flood levels.
Construction on this project began in early 2021 and estimates at the time placed completion within a decade. Averne East will total 1,320 affordable units and 330 market-rate apartments, along with several homeownership opportunities. Additionally, about 180,000 square feet of office and commercial space will be built.
Averne East already features a nature preserve, which opened in 2023. This 35-acre park resulted from the transformation of a formerly neglected open space, which now serves to protect maritime ecology. The nature preserve includes a community building, which provides administrative space for N.Y.C.’s parks department, among other uses.
Located on 116 acres at 116 Beach 36th St., the waterfront, master-planned development is within walking distance of three subway stations, while the borough’s downtown area is approximately 16 miles northwest.
Queens starts drop, yet a new policy may bolster production
Queens’ pipeline consisted of more than 7,100 units underway, 38 percent of which—or about 2,700 apartments—were within fully affordable properties as of December, according to Yardi Matrix data.
Developers expanded the borough’s pipeline by just 800 apartments during 2025’s first 11 months, the same source shows. This marks a substantial decline from the starts recorded during the same timeframe of 2024, more than 2,400 units.
However, the New York City Council took steps to boost housing completions through the approval of OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, the biggest rezoning initiative in two decades. This bill allows the development of 15,000 new units, including 4,350 affordable apartments throughout Queens.
The post L+M-Led JV Lines Up $278M for Queens Affordable Housing appeared first on Multi-Housing News.
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