New York Construction Report staff writer
A long-vacant Queens hospital is getting a new lease on life. City officials and project partners marked the start of construction this week on The Perennial, a $150 million redevelopment that will transform the former Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills into 145 deeply affordable apartments.
The project is led by Foxy Development and Selfhelp Realty Group, with design by Newman Design and general contracting by Suffolk Construction. Structural engineering is handled by Cityscape Engineering, and MEP services by Mottola Rini.
Vacant since 2008, the eight-story hospital at 70-35 113th Street will undergo a full interior rehabilitation and expansion. Construction plans call for a two-story vertical addition, a new eight-story wing on the north side, and a four-story addition on the northwest corner. The reconfigured structure will provide 124 senior apartments — including 44 reserved for formerly homeless residents — along with 21 family units.
The redevelopment also includes a new 34,000-square-foot home for the Forest Hills Jewish Center, requiring extensive structural modifications. Engineers will remove seven existing columns and portions of floor plates between the cellar and second floor to create a large open sanctuary, replacing them with 50-foot steel mega-beams installed beneath the third floor.
Exterior work will feature a prefabricated Dextall rainscreen system clad in fiber cement panels, expediting construction and improving energy efficiency. The Jewish Center’s façade will be distinguished with a limestone rainscreen and a prominent canopy, referencing Jerusalem stone.
Amenities for residents include a community room, food pantry, children’s playroom, library, computer room, fitness space, laundry facilities and a rooftop terrace. The design incorporates roll-in showers, grab bars, and seating areas to meet the needs of seniors.
Financing for the project includes a $37.5 million construction loan from TD Bank, $40.1 million in permanent financing through the Community Preservation Corporation, and a $70.7 million loan from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) under the Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) program. Additional support comes from state climate funds and tax exemptions.
Construction is expected to be completed by late 2027.
