Permits filed for 14-story, 173-apartment building at 161-05 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica

A 14-story apartment building is planned for a busy stretch of Hillside Avenue in downtown Jamaica. Building permits have been filed for a mixed-use tower with 173 apartments at 161-05 Hillside Ave., between 161st and 162nd streets, New York YIMBY and QNS reported.

What the filings show

• Size: 14 stories and 144 feet tall, about 125,484 square feet in total.
• Uses: about 116,062 square feet of residential space and 9,422 square feet of commercial space, plus a cellar and a 30-foot rear yard.
• Apartments: 173, averaging about 670 square feet, which both outlets say points to rentals.
• Team: the applications were filed by Sandi Silk of Mural Real Estate Partners, with Curtis+Ginsberg Architects as architect of record.
• Timing: demolition permits for the existing structure have not been filed, and no completion date has been announced.

The site is a short walk from the Parsons Boulevard station on the E and F lines and from a long list of bus routes, including the Q1, Q6, Q8, Q24, Q25, Q41, Q43, Q65, Q83, the Q110 through Q115 and the QM68 express, QNS notes.

Will it be affordable?

The filings reported so far don't say. But Mural has been public about its plans for this block. In March 2024, the community development lender LISC NY announced it had closed a $24.7 million loan, with the New York City Acquisition Fund, to Mural for projects on two sites on Hillside Avenue between 161st and 162nd streets. The release said those sites would add approximately 230 affordable homes and nearly 20,000 square feet of street retail, possibly including a grocery store. Mural describes itself as a minority- and women-owned business enterprise developer.

The 2024 release does not list street addresses, so it is not yet clear how the 173 units at 161-05 fit into that total, or what income levels any affordable units would target. We'll update this story when rents, income limits or a timeline are announced.

There is nothing to apply for yet. If the building includes income-restricted apartments, they would typically be offered through a lottery on NYC Housing Connect closer to completion. For lotteries that are open now, see our roundup of NYC housing lotteries closing soon.