NY’s first hotel-to-affordable housing conversion near JFK Airport is now complete
Credit: Slate Property Group
The transformation of a vacant hotel near John F. Kennedy International Airport into affordable housing is complete, marking New York’s first development of its kind. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced the completion of the Baisley Pond Park Residences in South Jamaica, which has turned the former JFK Hilton into 318 affordable and supportive apartments. The $167 million project—the first in the state to repurpose a hotel for affordable housing—features an indoor healing garden, on-site social services, and is fully electric.
First built in 1987 as the 350-key JFK Hilton, the 12-story building has been transformed into the Baisley Pond Park Residences, offering 127 affordable apartments and 191 supportive units for eligible formerly homeless households. The accessible property also accommodates residents with motor, hearing, and visual impairments.
Developed by Slate Property Group and the RiseBoro Community Partnership, the building is the first hotel-to-residential conversion completed under the state’s Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA). Established in 2021, the program incentivizes developers to convert vacant office buildings and hotels into affordable housing, as 6sqft previously reported.
Work on the project moved quickly, far faster than a typical ground-up development of a similar size, thanks to the building’s existing layout, which required minimal modifications. The structural walls remained intact, while the former hotel rooms were converted into apartments of varying sizes, each with a kitchen.
All of the residences are available to households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.
A housing lottery for 125 of the affordable apartments launched in March, ranging from $784/month for studios to $1,493/month for two bedrooms.
Designed by Aufgang Architects, the fully-electric building utilizes state-of-the-art cooling and heating systems that vastly reduce carbon emissions, as well as rooftop solar panels and Energy Star-efficient appliances. It has also received Enterprise Green Communities certification.
Residents have access to a wide variety of amenities, including multiple community rooms, a computer lounge, a gym, a yoga room, laundry facilities, 24-hour security, and most notably, a stunning indoor and outdoor garden space designed by landscape architecture firm OSD.
The building is also the canvas for “Queens Rising,” a new mural celebrating the history and character of Queens, created by artist Danielle Mastrion in collaboration with ArtBridge.
Additionally, the hotel’s former dining room and commercial kitchen have been converted into a 7,000-square-foot space where RiseBoro runs its Home Delivered Meals program, providing healthy meals and wellness checks to roughly 3,000 seniors.
RiseBoro will manage a 5,000-square-foot social services suite, where tenants can access on-site case management and care planning, helping them develop independent life skills and improve their health and wellness, according to the New York Housing Conference. The development will also offer job opportunities, including positions at nearby JFK Airport.
“In the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis, not only must we build our way out, we must think outside the box in doing so,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr., said.
“Converting the former JFK Hilton into 318 high-quality, affordable homes for some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers is a perfect example of the ingenuity we need in this moment.”
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