Excavation is now underway at 42-12 28th Street in Long Island City, which will soon become the tallest residential building in Queens. The project’s architect is Goldstein, Hill & West, and the site’s developer is Heatherwood.

While permits indicate 42-12 28th Street will eventually stand 58 stories and 596 feet, they do not account for the bulkhead levels atop the building; the zoning diagrams reveal that 42-12 28th Street will actually rise 646 feet and 8 inches to its pinnacle, making it significantly taller than any existing residential high-rises in Long Island City. Indeed, at 646 feet, the skyscraper will become the tallest apartment building in either Brooklyn or Queens, and will stand a mere twelve feet shorter than One Court Square, which has dominated the Court Square skyline all by its lonesome self for over two decades.

With 477 units, 42-12 28th Street will also add a significant number of new residents to the burgeoning Court Square neighborhood, which is seeing a surge in development. In terms of square footage, the building will have 5,878 square feet of retail, and 392,824 square feet of residential space.

Next-door, Heatherwood recently completed 42-17 27th Street — aka 27 on 27th, via Curbed — which has 142 units. Rockrose is another major participant in the area’s renaissance, and The Linc LIC — a 790-unit tower which was recently completed — will soon be joined by another skyscraper, at 10 Court Square.

Height-wise, 10 Court Square will still play second-fiddle to 42-12 28th Street, as the former will only stand 50 stories and 509 feet. The race upwards is just beginning in Long Island City, and the momentum in Court Square is going to become readily apparent as the skyline will be completely transformed over the course of the next decade.

Given its scope and height, 42-12 28th Street will make a significant positive impact on the neighborhood’s street-scape and its skyline, helping the push towards the creation of an urban, livable, and walkable node in Court Square. While no completion date has been announced, permits were partially approved on March 4th, and construction is clearly underway.

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