44-36 Vernon Boulevard Building RFI

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”) – on behalf of the City of New York (the “City”) and in coordination with the New York City Department of City Planning (“DCP”) and New York City Public Schools (“NYCPS”) – is releasing a Request for Information (“RFI”) to solicit ideas regarding the adaptive reuse of the City-owned building at 44-36 Vernon Boulevard (the “Vernon Building”) in Long Island City, Queens, to address key priorities of Long Island City (“LIC”) residents, community members, and other stakeholders. The RFI encourages responses from teams (including for- and non-profit organizations) that propose concepts or plans to redevelop all or a portion of the Vernon Building for adaptive reuse. Situated along 44th Drive and facing LIC’s East River waterfront, the Vernon Building is a large, six-story warehouse structure currently owned and occupied by NYCPS. Totaling nearly 700,000 gross square feet, the Vernon Building has the potential to be redeveloped to support a mix of office, cultural, industrial, retail, and community-serving uses.

NYCEDC, DCP, and NYCPS will review complete, responsive proposals to redevelop all or a portion of the Vernon Building through adaptive reuse and may choose to publicly release summaries of those proposals. The City will not select a development team from the RFI, but rather anticipates learning from the RFI responses to inform future approaches to the Vernon Building.

For more information on the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan and planning process, please visit licplan.nyc.

Information Session

An optional informational session will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at 4:00 P.M. ET virtually via Microsoft Teams. Those who wish to attend should RSVP by email to [email protected] on or before 5:00 P.M ET on May 20, 2025.

Site Visit

An optional site visit will also be held on Friday, May 30, 2025 at 5:00 P.M. ET at 44-36 Vernon Boulevard. Those who wish to attend should RSVP by email to [email protected] on or before 5:00 P.M ET on May 26, 2025.

Inquiries

Respondents may submit questions and/or request clarifications from NYCEDC no later than 5:00 P.M ET on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Questions regarding the subject matter of this RFI should be directed to [email protected]. Answers to all questions will be posted on or before Wednesday, August 20, 2025. Questions regarding the subject matter of this RFI will not be accepted after 5:00 P.M. ET on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, however, technical questions pertaining to downloading and submitting proposals to this RFI may be directed [email protected] on or before Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

Submission Guidelines

Detailed submission guidelines and requirements are outlined in the RFI, available as of May 5, 2025.

Please submit your response via electronic upload by clicking here and uploading your proposal.

Responses are due no later than August 27, 2025 at 11:59 PM. Please submit all documents in a single .zip file labeled with your company name. The Chrome Browser is the preferred method for uploading.

M/WBE

It is the policy of NYCEDC to comply with all federal, state and City laws and regulations which prohibit unlawful discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status and other protected category and to take affirmative action in working with contracting parties to ensure certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (as defined below) share in the economic opportunities generated by NYCEDC’s projects and initiatives.

Companies who have been certified with the New York City Department of Small Business Services as Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (“M/WBE”) are strongly encouraged to apply. To learn more about M/WBE certification, NYCEDC’s M/WBE program, and programs to assist M/WBE in navigating current and upcoming opportunities on NYCEDC projects, please visit sbsconnect.nyc.gov/certification-directory-search and edc.nyc/opportunity-mwdbe.