Hard to imagine today the grit of Long Island City past. Walking the streets of LIC you might wonder if anything even existed before this endless wave of new development.  Amazon or bust, cranes are aplenty.

So we decided to look at this burgeoning neighborhood and find a building that we could LOVE.  We tossed the supertalls aside and fancied a building more human in scale. We wanted a home that provided warmth, character and a true sense of space.  Lo and behold, we found everything that we wanted and more at the Zipper Building at 5-33 48th Avenue, the reclamation of a dilapidated factory in the Hunter’s Point section of LIC.  Once completed, the building will have 41 condo residences across seven floors and a large ground-floor retail presence.

The Zipper Building, which not surprisingly was the home to a zipper manufacturer, pays homage to the neighborhood’s industrial past, utilizing the bones of the original factory while incorporating a modern take on its historic elements.  The original building was also expanded from four floors to seven during the conversion to residential use.

Inside and out, the building’s physical attributes perfectly align with the area’s roots.  The bold exterior exhaults in rich red brick and massive recessed casement windows. The two-story glass addition atop the structure adds an arresting aesthetic, a contemporary signature if you will, to the development.  The interiors are equally alluring. The loft residences incorporate several distinctive architectural features from the previous use, including exposed brick, tall ceilings and wooden beams. The wall-to-wall casement windows envelope these homes with light and add a dramatic backdrop to the spaces.

Aside from the physical building itself, we fell in love with the location.  The building is directly across from the Hunter’s Point Community Park and just two blocks east of Gantry Plaza State Park.  The views over the park are protected of course.  

Security is provided by a part-time doorman which is supplemented with a virtual security system.  Surprisingly, the amenity offerings are broad given the building’s size. There is a fitness center with an adjoining yoga terrace, residents lounge with an outdoor terrace, bike room, children’s playroom, private storage units and garage spaces for purchase.

Most of the building’s 41 units are two and three-bedroom residences.  Two bedrooms are currently starting at $1,230,000. The asking prices are in the range of $1400 per square foot. 

Kayla Lee and Carlos Simoes of Modern Spaces are representing ownership in the sell out of the Zipper Building.  For further details visit Linecity.com.