New photos of Willets Point show off NYC’s largest all-affordable development in decades

Willets Point, New York City’s largest new all-affordable housing development in decades, has welcomed its first residents. The first affordable homes at Willets Point Commons opened earlier this year, with 880 units across two buildings. Upon completion, the Willets Point development will bring an unprecedented 2,500 units of affordable, workforce, and moderate-income housing for individuals, families, and seniors to the former industrial Queens neighborhood. Located across from Citi Field, the development by Queens Development Group (QDG), a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, is part of a growing community of retail and entertainment opportunities, including the city’s first professional soccer stadium. New photos offer a first look at the new apartments and the suite of amenities available to residents.

Managed by Related Management Company, Willets Point Commons offers two landscaped inner courtyards, outdoor terraces and BBQs, a tenant lounge space, a fitness center, a children’s playroom, co-working space, secure bike storage, electric vehicle charging, and ground-floor retail shops, as well as laundry and package rooms.

The rest of the city is easily accessed by the 7-train, LIRR, and Q19, Q90, and Q66 bus routes, all just steps away.

Plans to redevelop the former dumping ground and industrial neighborhood have been in the works for decades. As 6sqft previously reported, the mixed-use development is the result of a decades-long attempt to transform the blighted Willets Point section of Corona, Queens. The economic development site is situated within the industrial neighborhood east of Citi Field known as the Iron Triangle.

“Today is a major milestone for Willets Point. I’m proud to welcome the first residents home to Willets Point Commons–the largest fully affordable housing development our city has seen in decades,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in an earlier press release.

“At a time when too many New Yorkers are being priced out of the neighborhoods they built, this project is proof that government can still deliver bold, transformative change. By bringing together labor, community partners, and every level of government, we are creating a future where working families can afford to build their lives in this city.”

As part of phase one of the development, the 880 homes within Willets Point Commons include Buildings 1 and 2, serving households earning between 30 and 120 percent of area median income (AMI). Twenty percent of apartments will be set aside for Queens Community Board 7 residents, 10 percent for veterans and NYC municipal employees, five percent for mobility access needs, and two percent for visual/hearing access needs.

Also of note, the senior housing portion of the complex breaks ground this month. Once complete, 220 affordable senior housing apartments will complete the 1,100-unit commitment for the development’s first phase.

“Rising out of the former Valley of Ashes are 880 brighter futures for the first residents of the reimagined Willets Point,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said in a statement.

“This historic moment for our borough is the first of many more to come in this community, and I look forward to the creation of 220 units of affordable housing for low-income seniors to that list. This transformational project proves that Queens is truly the future, and I couldn’t be more grateful to work alongside our public and private partners in growing this Valley of Opportunity.”

Phase two will bring the remaining 1,400 of the project’s 2,500 new affordable homes.

Also part of phase two are a new public school, over 150,000 square feet of public open space, and Etihad Park, the city’s first professional soccer-specific stadium and the future home of the New York City Football Club (NYCFC). There will also be space for local businesses and a new hotel.

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Photos courtesy of Related Companies