The $316 million project will replace the Queens Plaza MunicipalParking Garage. The project, which will create about 1,400construction jobs, is the first phase of the proposed3.5-million-sf Gotham Center development.

The tower will be occupied by the City's Health Department andwill include about 9,400 sf of ground-floor retail space and morethan 180 parking spaces. The Health Department will relocate aportion of its staff to the new building from many of its 15locations in Midtown and Lower Manhattan. Locating many of theHealth Department's non-field-based staff in this new building inLong Island City is in concert with the City's goal of locatingagency headquarters where possible under one roof for operationalefficiencies and improved work environment, according to a preparedstatement. The five-level garage was first occupied in 1976 and hasbeen vacant since February 2008. Demolition has begun, andconstruction of the new office tower will start by the end of theyear. The relocation of Health Department employees is expected tobe complete in late 2011 and the precise number of staff to berelocated has not yet been determined.

The Department of Health's new space will use the new open spacestandards--designed to create a better environment while increasingefficiencies--already employed by several City agencies includingthe Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, theMayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting, the Department ofConsumer Affairs, the Department of Information Technology andTelecommunications and the Mayor's Office, according to astatement.