Citigroup had controlled the site since the 1980s, having taken ownership of it during the development of One Court Square and the smaller Two Court Square. Though Citi had planned a third office tower on the site, by 2015 the company decided it did not need the potential space and that the land was more valuable as a development site. As a result, Citi hired
JLL to market the site and several months later sold the parcel to
Flushing, Queens-based developer
Chris Xu for $143 million. In February 2016, permits were initially filed for a 79-story tower that would reach a height of . However, due to Long Island City's proximity to
LaGuardia Airport, the
Federal Aviation Administration ruled that the building could rise no higher than without posing a threat to landing airplanes. As a result, the development was downsized to its current height of . Foundation work at the site began in late 2017. In July 2018, the developers secured $502 million in financing from a consortium of banks led by
JPMorgan Chase, the largest-ever financing for a private real estate development in Queens. By the end of 2018, foundation work was complete and the building had risen to the sixth floor. The project launched sales in May 2019, targeting a sellout of over $1 billion, a record for Queens. The building topped-out in October 2019. Half the condos at the building had been sold by September 2021. During the year, the Skyline Tower had sold more units than any other luxury development in the city. By June 2024, nine-tenths of the apartments had been sold. ==Controversies==