The Creedmoor Psychiatric Center is one step closer to a massive housing redevelopment, a project that will leave housing advocates wondering if more could’ve been constructed.
The state’s Public Authorities Control Board approved the administration’s redevelopment plans for a 58-acre portion of the Queens Village campus, Crain’s reported. Construction is expected to start in 2027 and wrap in 2029, though a developer still needs to be selected for the site.
Under the plan, a mix of 2,000 affordable and market-rate rental and purchasable units will be developed on the long-vacant site. There will be senior, veteran and supportive housing options.
The development will also include more than 10 acres of open space, retail and community space, expected to include a public school, a childcare facility and space for seniors.
The administration will pull funds from a $500 million pot earmarked for housing developments on state-owned land. That is not expected to cover the entirety of the project.
The master plan for Creedmoor, released in December 2023, called for more than 2,800 homes. But density concerns led to negotiations between Empire State Development and local officials, resulting in a compromise that cut roughly 850 units from the proposal.
Five of the planned eight-story buildings were also axed from the proposal. The agreement, revealed in August, created a 27 percent decrease in overall unit square footage and a 15 percent reduction in units allocated for individuals with mental illnesses.
Creedmoor has been around since 1912, when it opened as a satellite facility of Brooklyn State Hospital. It began as a psychiatric “farm colony” where patients took part in daily work as part of a therapy regimen.
The full campus spans 125 acres. Most of its buildings — 19 out of 25 — are vacant. Multiple state-led agencies are expected to continue providing services to patients on the remaining 67 acres at Creedmoor.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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