A massive apartment complex is coming to the parking lot of Gargiulo’s Restaurant, becoming the latest in a series of towers to sprout up around the People’s Playground.
The Surf Avenue building will span almost a fully city block between W. 15th and W. 16th streets and will feature two connected towers: one standing at 26 stories, and the other at 16 stories.
The sprawling development will house 322 market-rate apartments and 139 affordable units that will be one or two bedroom, developer LCOR said. A spokesman for LCOR did not say how much the apartments will lease for.
The glitzy building, designed by the architecture firm Studio V, will also feature an outdoor pool, a gym, a parking lot, an indoor basketball and handball court, and multiple tenant lounges. Construction is expected to wrap up 2024, according to LCOR spokesman Sam Goldstein.
On the ground floor, locals will be able to access 11,000 square feet worth of retail space, which will likely house “key services” or “entertainment,” spokesman Sam Goldstein said.
The building’s announcement comes nearly a year after LCOR signed a 99-year lease agreement with the family that owns Gargiulo’s, giving LCOR permission to build on Gargiulo’s parking lot between Surf and Mermaid avenues, Brooklyn Paper first reported.
LCOR will pay the Russo family, which has operated the beloved Coney Island restaurant since 1965, about $100 million over the course of the deal, according to The Real Deal.
An LCOR executive said the company decided to expand to Coney Island because of increasing demand for beachfront property.
“We believe that the combination of relative value, accessibility, ocean views, and beachfront living will be highly desirable and attract tenants from all over NYC,” LCOR’s Senior Vice President Anthony Tortora said. “We are seeing more and more tenants who are interested in an urban-suburban experience.”
LCOR isn’t the only developer flocking to the People’s Playground. Over the last several years, high-rise apartment building have shot up across the neighborhood, including John Catsimatidis’ 22-story Ocean Drive complex on W. 35th Street and a 40-story tower under construction on Neptune Avenue.
The towers’ soaring heights are permitted under Coney Island’s 2009 city-led rezoning, which aimed to attract residents and businesses to the district that was in economic decline.
One of the owners of Gargiulo’s said the new complex will suit the area well.
“Our family is happy to welcome LCOR to Coney Island,” said Michael Russo. “LCOR is incorporating the best features of classic Coney Island with modern facilities that meet the needs of a full-time population.”
Gargiulo’s will remain open throughout construction and after the towers are built, according to LCOR.
