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A 30-acre section of land in Long Island City is on track to become the largest affordable housing development the City has seen in decades. The site, which was once proposed as a possible location of the 2012 Olympic Village, will instead become 5,000 units of housing, 60 percent of which will be reserved as affordable housing for low- and medium-income families.

The Hunters Point South Development will also include 11 acres of waterfront park and walkways, new shops and community spaces. Additionally, there will be a much-needed 1,100-seat high school for Long Island City.

“Hunters Point South will be a model in revitalizing the waterfront and rebuilding the middle class,” said Councilman and Public Advocate contender Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) after being congratulated by Mayor Bloomberg at a press conference announcing the plan.

The announcement marks the end of the beginning for the three-year process, which has included a completed Uniform Land Use Review in late 2008. The City bought the site from the Port Authority for $100 million that is reportedly going to be used to fund several capital projects in Queens.

The 3,000 units reserved for affordable housing are meant to increase options for middle class households, such as a family of four that has a combined income of between $55,000 and $158,000.

Joseph Conley, the chairman of Community Board 2, called it “a very comprehensive plan” and said the community has been consulted and involved in the process for about two years. “If it wasn’t for the mayor, we’d be sitting with this undeveloped land for who knows how long,” said Conley. He said the park and the school were both done deals and the other commercial portions of the plan would also take shape given “the right market conditions.”

The City hopes the development will spark more than $2 billion in private investments and help create more that 4,500 jobs. Construction is slated to begin in the fall with infrastructure costs estimated to run about $175 million.

According to statistics cited by the City, 28 percent of New York households spend more than half of their income on rent and 71.9 percent of the New Yorkers who live in an unaffordable situation are deemed by the City as low-income.