By Victor Ramos and Raul Ramos
Over the last decade, Downtown Jamaica, Queens, has been in the middle of a dramatic transformation, and at the center of the action has been the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GDDC).
Since its inception in 1967, the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC) has been involved in urban renewal and revitalization in both the business and cultural communities. Whether supporting local businesses, the arts, or constructing affordable housing, GJDC has been an engine of progress, working to make downtown Jamaica vibrant, safe, and affordable.
In its 58-year history, GJDC has encouraged a public-private investment partnership. Its founding CEO was the legendary Carlisle Towery, a soft-spoken man from Alabama, who came to Jamaica as an urbanist in the early 1960s. With a vision of supporting cultural institutions like the Jamaica Arts Center and businesses like the Farmers Market food court— which serves delicious offerings from local restaurateurs — and government buildings like the Federal Social Security building on Jamaica Avenue, the core of renewal has long been established.
In 2015, Hope Knight joined the organization after serving as an executive at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) for years. For seven years, she continued and expanded the mission of GJDC, gaining the confidence of Governor Hochul during her tenure. She left GJDC in 2022 to become Governor Hochul’s economic development chief.
Since 2022, Justin Rodgers has led the organization. Rodgers, who has been employed at GJDC for 19 years, says that each leader has brought their own management style to the Organization. Towery had a “bulldozer approach to doing business,” according to Rodgers, and he believes he and Hope Knight brought a more collaborative approach to leadership. “I treat everybody the same,” says Rodgers, “if we have an event when it’s time to clean up, I help,” he adds, “I don’t feel I am better than anyone else, I work with everybody, that is just how I was raised.”
GJDC is funded primarily by the operation of several parking garages it owns, as well as rental income from GJDC properties. Additional funding comes from New York City and the state, as well as small grants from the Federal government and local businesses.
GJDC focuses on promoting and coordinating development projects and has played a significant role in getting new businesses up and running. Several new buildings now dot the skyline of the downtown Jamaica area, and while the downtown is not on the scale of a Flushing, Long Island City, or Brooklyn development, Rodgers believes the community is satisfied with the more managed growth of its downtown.
A range of projects has explicitly fallen under the purview of the Organization, which includes a 368-block rezoned radius approved initially under the Bloomberg Administration. From Archer and Sutphin Boulevard to Ruby Square on Merrick Boulevard, development has been powered by the rezoning, which now allows buildings to be up to 290 feet high.
On the corner of Archer and Sutphin sits a massive 28-story rental building, a project spearheaded by GJDC, featuring ground-level retail and restaurant spaces that include stores such as Chipotle, Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe. The Ruby Square rental building on Merrick Boulevard has many additional amenities, including indoor and outdoor basketball courts and a multi-tier courtyard area. Since its recent completion, families have begun moving in, many receiving affordable pricing. Thirty percent of the units are affordably priced, with the remaining units at market rate.
The rezoning of Jamaica, Queens, and the work of GJDC are changing the face of Jamaica’s urban core. With new rental units, more retail and restaurants, the revitalization of downtown Jamaica has hit a new phase, and the future for the community and its vitality seems to be bright.