A few weeks ago, artnet News reported that demolition on the whitewashed Long Island City structure formerly known as 5Pointz was slated to begin in August. While this has yet to happen, Gothamist reports that renderings of the planned towers and surrounding areas have been released.

As one might expect, they’re pretty bland, but one thing seems to be for certain: the development will include at least one designated area for graffiti art, as mandated by site owners Jerry and David Wolkoff. They claim to want to keep the area’s heritage intact, but are probably also hoping not to be widely perceived as monsters of gentrification.

A courtyard area outside the building that is slated to feature spaces for artists.
Photo: HTO Architects

The father-son duo told the New York Daily News, “We’re putting up a wall so they can graffiti it. We’re happy to do it.” But despite the developers’ happiness, some local artists are still less than thrilled with the relatively low impact the designated walls will have in the community.

“They’re going to be in the back underneath the train and, to be honest with you, it has no type of social impact,” artist Carlos Game, who had about a dozen pieces on the old facade, told the Daily News. It’s true, passers by on the 7 train will no longer have an explosion of art to look forward to, but as Gothamist predicts, when the place is first erected,it sounds like there very well may be some spraying done on non-designated walls.