Developers give first look at Queens’ tallest building

The Orchard will soon be the new tallest building in Queens. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Queens will soon have a new tallest building and it has already begun to reshape the borough’s ever-evolving skyline in Long Island City.

The Orchard, a 823-foot luxury residential tower topped off in July, is the tallest building in Queens, and the second tallest in the city outside of Manhattan. The tower, owned by developer BLDG, will contain 824 units and will feature amenities such as a 60,000-square-foot yard, swimming pools, a running track, a fitness center, a game room and more.

While the 70-story building includes views of the World Trade Center to the Rockaways, it is seen by some as a stark example of the luxury development boom that has made Long Island City one of the fastest growing and least affordable neighborhoods in New York City.

On Wednesday, BLDG gave stakeholders as well as members of the media a first look at the structure, which will start taking leases in Jan. 2026.

"With The Orchard, we’re not just building a building — we’re setting a new standard for luxury residences rich in premium amenities in Queens,” said Lloyd Goldman, president of BLDG Management. “Now officially the tallest tower in the borough, The Orchard is designed to offer residents an unparalleled living experience.”

Goldman’s family is among the most prolific developers of the 20th century, and owns over 700 properties in the United States.

The Orchard is a long-term project headed by Goldman, who founded his own company – BLDG – in 1984.

The land where The Orchard stands has been in the family for over 60 years, Goldman said.

“Once we got going, we knew that this neighborhood had matured, this community was a place we wanted to build our next building,” he said. “I've owned this site in my family for over 60 years, I've been involved here for over 45 years in terms of seeing this property go through various evolutions and refining.”

He said constructing Queens’ tallest building was not initially what he set out to do.

“As we started pushing it up, it made sense,” he said.

Views from the 62nd floor of the building span almost the entirety of Queens, overlooking the rest of the luxury developments in Long Island City it dwarfs by comparison.

As Goldman boasted about the amenities his new tower will soon bring on the 62nd floor, the wildfires currently engulfing much of New Jersey’s wilderness could be seen over his shoulder.

While The Orchard will soon be a landmark of the borough as its tallest structure, some Long Island City locals see it as a landmark of something more detrimental.

The view of Queens from the 62nd floor of The Orchard. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

“The Orchard will further stress our already overburdened public infrastructure that has never been upgraded and expanded for the density growth over the last two decades,” said Danielle Brecker, a local organizer and community board member.

Brecker, an advocate for affordable housing, says the number of affordable apartments in The Orchard – 248 units – is not enough.

“This will do little to help the affordable housing crisis,” she said.

Goldman told reporters during the tour that most of the affordable units will be priced for those making incomes around $140,000.

Anatole Ashraf, the chair of Community Board 2, said he finds The Orchard less offensive than Brecker, but still wants to see how it will help the community rather than hurt it.

“The question is whether there can be community benefits,” he told the Eagle. “And what kind of neighbor the developer and management company will be in LIC.”

The neighborhood as a whole has been one of the fastest growing in the entire city in the past decade. The population of LIC grew more than 43 percent between 2010 and 2021, outpacing the rest of the city and adding an additional 20,000 housing units along the way.

Many of those units came in the form of high-rise luxury towers – like The Orchard – with high rents that priced out residents who have called the community home for years.

Average rent in LIC is around $3,354 per month, more than a thousand more than the average rent in neighboring Astoria and nearly $1,500 higher than Sunnyside, the neighborhood to LIC’s south.

There are currently efforts underway attempting to make Long Island City more affordable. Among the plans is OneLIC, a rezoning plan aimed at increasing housing, public spaces, waterfront access, transportation improvements and more.

“Previously completed rezonings have transformed the neighborhood by bringing almost 23,000 new housing units but very few of it has been for working class New Yorkers,” local Councilmember Julie Won said in August.

The Orchard will include what developers are calling the city’s “largest backyard” on the 3rd floor of the building. Rendering via Binyan

As for the Orchard, it will soon start offering studios to three-bedroom residences with the hopes people will be able to move in by Jan. 2026.

“As we move closer to completion of the premier rental address in Queens, The Orchard reflects our commitment to creating a home that is not only sophisticated but also deeply connected to the vibrant energy of Long Island City,” Goldman said.