Queens West infrastructure contracts to be let.

The construction industry's first breakfast forum in 1994 was launched recently with an announcement that the Queens West Development, a $2.3 billion mixed-use project on a 74-acre waterfront site in Hunters Point, Queens, could begin to let infra-structure contracts this spring and building development contracts in the Fall, Walter H. Kirby, President of the New York Building Congress, reported.

Kirby pointed out that Queens West contracts and extensive pre-development infrastructure planning for the project indicates it could become a job-creating reality and provide an estimated 14,000 construction-related jobs.

Announcement of the upcoming contracts came from Rosina K. Abramson, President of the Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC), who addressed the Forum and explained that the Queens West infrastructure contracts, which could be put out for bids as early as this spring, include a planned 19.5 acre park system.

In addition, during the Q&A period, Abramson explained that a ferry service is planned to start this spring from Hunters Point to Manhattan and she said that a six-minute water taxi service to the U.N. will be provided from Queens West. This, she noted, will help QWDC accommodate U.N. needs She also pointed out that planned Long Island Railroad improvements near the QWD site will help tie Queens West into Manhattan and to other New York regions.

The breakfast Forum program is sponsored by the Building Congress and by the "New York Construction News" (NYCN) to help keep the design and construction community up-to-date on planned capital programs and job opportunities.

John F. Hennessy III, Building Congress Chairman, introduced Abramson and, in his remarks, said that the construction picture in the city might be starting to improve. He cited both the construction jobs represented by the Queens West Development and by a $600 million state MTA capital bond issue, for which the Building Congress had successfully lobbied.

NYCN's publisher Mark Kelly also cited an improving economic scenario and said that the industry must urge government to implement its construction programs.

Abramson lauded the Building Congress for its help in getting approvals for Queens West, and she explained that two architectural teams, Gruzen/Samton and Beyer/Blinder/Belle, have been working on QWDC urban planning and design guidelines since 1985. She added that jobs for a drainage plan, streets, utilities, and a builders and pavers plan should be ready for bid soon.

Abramson, emphasizing that Queens West will help to "create construction jobs now" and help "position New York as a world class city," also announced that QWDC has conditionally designated its first developer, M.O. Associates, which will build a $100 million, 550unit cooperative residential tower. The M.O. Associates group includes the Zeckendorf interests, Japanese investors and others.

Ground breaking for the co-op project, she said, is scheduled for next Fall. The apartments will be subsidized and a two-bedroom, two-bath unit will sell for a projected price of $15,000. The FHA has provided preliminary approval for a $90 million mortgage insurance commitment for the building.

Overall, the Queens West development will include some 6,300 multifamily units, some 10 percent of which will be in the affordable category. In addition, there will be 2 million square feet of office space, a 350-room waterfront hotel, 250,000 square feet for local community and retail services, a public school and an early childhood education center. A 12-acre esplanade along the East River, with waters' edge structures, is part of the park system. The 1.25 mile long esplanade has been designed by Weintraub DiDomenico and Thomas Balsey Associates.