Mayor Eric Adams on Monday helped break floor on an all-affordable house tower within the shadow of Coney Island’s famed Parachute Bounce – the most recent within the space’s scorching actual property improvement.
Adams grabbed a shovel to affix executives from developer BFC Companions, together with these from Citi, Goldman Sachs and two metropolis companies at 1709 Surf Ave.
The 420-unit constructing, behind the Coney Island boardwalk, will full the ultimate part of a trio of properties BFC has delivered to the once-underutilized blocks between West sixteenth and West 18th Avenue. The three buildings will add 1,242 new residences.
Like LCOR’s at 1515 Surf Ave., between West fifteenth and West sixteenth streets, it’s one other worthy addition to the Coney Island residential market, which is rising quickly because of 2009 rezoning.
The LCOR is an all-electric, 463-unit, towers-on-a-podium undertaking which we had the pleasure to tour final week.
Greater than a half-dozen new tasks have opened or will open quickly on or close to Surf Avenue, as Adams pushes a plan to ship 1,500 inexpensive houses and to put money into new infrastructure.
The brand new buildings by a number of totally different builders aren’t as glamorous as John Catsimatidis’ Miami-inspired Ocean Drive towers on the peninsula’s western finish.
However they boast good-looking exteriors, fashionable fashionable residences, beautiful views, swimming swimming pools, screening rooms, lounges, and athletic and well being amenities.
They’re a brief stroll to the Stillwell Avenue subway station, the boardwalk and seaside, and the Cyclone and different thrill rides.
The one factor is lacking is shops and consuming locations for a extra prosperous inhabitants. Aside from a Milk & Honey cafe coming this yr at 1515 Surf, that avenue and close by Mermaid and Neptune avenues are largely bereft of fine purchasing and eating choices. (White-tablecloth Italian restaurant Gargiulo’s is the historic exception.)
The brand new buildings have ample ground-floor retail areas. The issue up to now is drawing tenants to them. That’s due partly to the shortage till just lately of sufficient residents to help mid-market retail, and partly to the neighborhood’s outdated repute for crime and homelessness.
Town’s Financial Improvement Corp., the Coney Island Alliance business-improvement district and the builders, too, have to step up right here. In any other case, the “new” Coney Island will stay lower than the fully-realized neighborhood it must be.
