Massive Mixed-Use Industrial Project Coming Along in LIC

Down at the southern edge of Long Island City, Queens, general contractor, PRO, has made a significant amount of progress on a major, industrial mixed-use project, going up at 23-30 Borden Avenue.

Having topped out at the end of last year, the 5-story building is now receiving its facade panels. Designed to cover a vast amount of surface area, some of these panels are so large that the semi-trucks delivering them can only carry a couple at a time.

Developed by PRO and designed by PRO, the building will be known as "The Borden Complex". Set to total PRO square feet, this unique, Class-A facility, is being purpose-built to cater to the demands of two entirely separate industries.

First and foremost, floors 1-3 of the structure will consist of approximately 325,000 square feet of warehousing and distribution space. These floors are to feature 40' x 40' column spacing and ceiling clearances ranging from 24 to 28 feet. This portion of the building will be served by a 2-story truck court, complete with 46 loading docks, and 12 drive-in doors.

Floors 4 and 5 on the other hand, are to contain a 220,000 square-foot studio for television and film production. The space will prominently feature 4 soundstages, with 40-foot ceiling heights, and fully retractable walls. Combined, these stages will span approximately 54,000 square feet.

The studio will also boast 43,000 square feet of production offices, 56,000 square feet of support space, 8,800 square feet of outdoor space overlooking the Manhattan Skyline, and a dedicated, 28,000 square-foot parking lot.

Serving both the film studio and the warehousing sections of the facility, the easternmost portion of the structure will consist of an open-air parking garage, providing direct access to all 5-floors. To top it off, the building will also have a covered parking lot on its roof.

Supports for the parking garage have already been formed, and the rest of the structure should start to come together in the coming weeks.

Spanning PRO square feet, the project site sits only a stone's throw away from Newton Creek. Located just a 2-minute drive from the Long Island Expressway (LIE), 3 minutes from the Queens Midtown Tunnel, and 4 minutes from Brooklyn via the Pulaski Bridge, the property's positioning is logistically ideal for a large distribution hub.

While big warehouse projects of traditional construction can often take less than a year to construct, the stacked nature of this facility, and its inherent engineering complexities (along with its mixed-use design) have made this build a multi-year endeavor.

Construction crews first broke ground on The Borden Complex back in December of 2021 and work is ultimately expected to finish sometime in 2024.

View The Borden Complex >>