Selling Long Island City—Q&A with The Mines Group
By Diana Mosher
Long Island City (LIC) has become a hot neighborhood thanks to zoning changes that have made it a magnet for multifamily developers. The big shift came in 2001, when the city introduced mixed-use zoning, allowing for density increases near transit. But there’s more to LIC than glass towers. Jonathan Mines of The Mines Group, a full service boutique commercial real estate firm based in New York City, is working on a deal in LIC, brokering the sale of a 100-year-old apartment asset. Located at 44-73 21st Street, the vintage property is 20,321 sq. ft. with 25 units. I recently sat down with Jonathan to talk about how he has positioned his deal in a competitive market, the reasons LIC is a great place to live and more.
Q: You’re super enthusiastic about LIC! What makes it a hot spot?
Mines: I think LIC is one of the more compelling real estate stories in the five boroughs right now. You’ve got this rare convergence of Manhattan skyline views, subway access that makes Midtown a 10-minute commute, a thriving arts and cultural scene—MoMA PS1 has been anchoring this for decades—and a neighborhood that still has texture and grit alongside the glass towers. That combination is unique. What also excites me is the diversity of the housing stock. You have century-old walk-ups sitting next to 60-story luxury rentals. That’s a great opportunity. Every type of buyer and renter has a home here, if you know how to tell the story right.
Q: LIC has experienced tremendous growth. What was it like before the zoning changes? When and how did new zoning go into effect?
Mines: Before 2001, LIC was essentially an industrial neighborhood with manufacturing, warehouses and auto shops. Artists had discovered it for cheaper lofts and proximity to Manhattan, but it was raw. Artists would show their work in any available space. There was charm in that, but it wasn’t a thriving residential market in any conventional sense. The big shift came in 2001, when the city introduced mixed-use zoning, allowing for density increases near transit. And just last November, the City Council unanimously approved the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, rezoning 54 full or partial blocks in LIC, which is projected to bring nearly 15,000 new housing units, including over 4,000 permanently affordable ones. It’s the largest neighborhood rezoning in at least a quarter century. Critically affordability’s baked in from the start. Mandatory Inclusionary Housing now requires developers who benefit from zoning changes to set aside 20–30 percent of new residential projects for income-restricted units. That didn’t exist in 2001. The policy has matured alongside the neighborhood.
Q: The competitive landscape must be daunting in LIC. Are there notable high profile developers and architects you are admiring there?
Mines: That’s NYC real estate! Daunting is a good word—but also inspiring. It’s still a relationship business at its core. People want to work with people they like and trust.
Tishman Speyer’s Jackson Park is a trio of luxury glass towers with nearly 1,900 rental units and 120,000 sq. ft. of resort-style amenities. It’s like a city within a city. Rockrose Development has been in Court Square for years with Linc LIC. It’s one of the tallest structures in Queens, standing as a benchmark for what full-service luxury looks like here.
On the architecture side, Hill West Architects has become a signature firm of the LIC boom. They’ve touched many projects in LIC. I also respect what FXCollaborative did with their corten steel and banded floor-to-ceiling window design. It’s maybe the most architecturally distinctive building in the neighborhood. The luxury players are starting to nod to the neighborhood’s industrial past with brick podiums and warehouse-inspired details. The history isn’t being erased; it’s being reinterpreted.
Q: What’s it like brokering a deal on a century-old asset when there are so many new luxury high rises all around?
Mines: You cannot walk into a conversation about a 1920s walk-up in LIC without being clear on what that asset is and what it isn’t. A prospective buyer or investor has seen the renders for the new glass towers. They know what 66-story amenity-loaded living looks like. So you don’t compete on amenities. You compete on story, value and authenticity.
There is a real appetite for this type of asset. The pre-war construction quality, the thick walls, the character that can’t be replicated in new construction. The bones of a century-old building in LIC are often extraordinary. And from an investment standpoint, you’re frequently looking at a basis that new development simply cannot touch. A challenge is making sure the numbers tell that story as clearly as the building itself does.
Q: Do you have tips for positioning a vintage apartment property so its best assets shine?
Mines: A few things I always come back to. First, lead with the building’s history. Not as nostalgia but as provenance. There’s a reason people pay premiums for pre-war on the Upper West Side. The same logic applies in LIC, and it can be undersold here.
Second, don’t apologize for what the building doesn’t have. Don’t open with “there’s no doorman, but…” Frame what it does have: ceiling heights, brick, layout generosity, character. Things you can’t necessarily find in new construction. Third, contextualize the cap rate against the submarket. A vintage LIC asset might have a higher cap rate than the new tower down the block. That’s a feature, not a bug, for the right investor. And finally, invest in how the spaces are presented. Great photography, clean common areas, a well-maintained entrance. First impressions especially in a vintage building should reinforce the charm.
Q: What other projects is The Mines Group working on?
Mines: Some exciting things coming up to announce soon!
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
Mines: LIC is one of those places where you can still feel the old and the new neighborhood becoming at the same time. You’re watching it get written in real time. The population has increased 78 percent over roughly the last decade. That’s not a trend—that’s a transformation. It’s an extraordinary moment. The buildings with history are the ones that anchor a neighborhood’s identity. In 30 years people will still be talking about the pre-war walk-ups in LIC the way they talk about pre-war in Manhattan today. I’d rather be early to that conversation.