Rockaway Village

Organization Name: Marvel, Phipps Houses

Project Title: Rockaway Village

Project Location: Far Rockaway, Queens, New York

Project Description:
Rockaway Village is a five-phase development that comprises nearly 1,700 affordable apartments for families whose household incomes range from 30% - 80% of Area Median Income. It also includes 115,000 square feet of commercial/community facility space, private street infrastructure, two privately owned, public plazas, and over 550 parking spaces. Despite comprising nearly two million SF, the project’s design breaks that scale down to human levels. Residents are welcomed by a 24/7 concierge, providing a safe/secure environment and amenities/services including a private, landscaped interior courtyard, package room, children’s playroom, and a stunning large community room with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, Brooklyn, Queens, and downtown Manhattan. Like many of NYC’s most famous buildings, such as The Dakota, smaller residential cores are clustered around a network of private courtyards. The Downtown Far Rockaway community has been under-resourced for decades, but Rockaway Village is helping to lead a revitalization that has brought investment into the community that will have a positive impact on the generations to come.

Community Impact:
Rockaway Village replaced a derelict 1950s-era shopping center with over three acres of surface parking that was known more for its vacant storefronts than it was for serving the needs of the community. Rockaway Village has replaced this void with a “spine” of plazas/sidewalks/roads connecting the LIRR and the A Train termini, which had previously been severed. The level of investment into the Downton Far Rockaway community was welcomed by creating a more walkable neighborhood and taking parking off street level and moving it underground.

This development has also provided the opportunity for hundreds of local families to move from outdated and sometimes rundown apartments into newly constructed apartments that have a greater level of service and amenities – the residents from the neighborhood have expressed their happiness now that they live in Rockaway Village.

With the completion of Phase 4 of the development, Phipps Neighborhoods will open an Opportunity Center to provide services to residents of Rockaway Village that include financial literacy, workforce development, STEAM education, summer youth employment, and many other programs to serve the needs of the community.

Organization Description:
Marvel is an established designer and builder of affordable housing. The company has constructed hundreds of units across various neighborhoods in New York. Marvel is committed to creating sustainable housing options that cater to New Yorkers from all income levels and walks of life. The firm believes that a diverse population enriches the city as a whole. Phipps Houses is the oldest and largest not-for-profit developer, owner, and manager of affordable housing in New York City.

Team Members:

Phipps Houses: Owner/Property Manager, DeSimone: Structural, Dagher: MEFP, W Architecture & Landscape: Landscape, Langan Engineering: Civil, Socotec: Envelope, Jim Conti: Lighting, JM Zoning:Expeditor