In what neighborhood leaders hope is the first sign of a coming development
boom, Staples office supply store will join a Linens ‘n’ Things
in an underdeveloped area of Coney Island.
The Economic Development Corporation announced on Thursday that a Manhattan-based
development group would build a 13,000-square-foot Staples across the
street from the newly opened Linens ‘n’ Things in the building
formerly occupied by Topps Appliance City, which closed several years
ago. The development sits at the intersection of Cropsey Avenue and Hart
Place near the Coney Island Creek and the Belt Parkway.
SAM Coney Island LLC, which is comprised mostly of Vista Realty Partners
in Manhattan, developed Linens ‘n’ Things late last year and
expects to open the Staples next year. Several other major retailers on
the currently drab strip are also planned, said Marc Esrig, a managing
member of the group.
“The development of this property is great news for Coney Island
and the neighboring communities,” said Economic Development Corp.
President Andrew Alper in a prepared statement announcing the Staples
deal. “This was a dilapidated lot plagued by illegal dumping. On
behalf of the city, EDC worked with the developer to clean up the site
and make it suitable for economic development.”
Esrig said that the group purchased the 25,900-square-foot city-owned
lot for approximately $500,000, a cost that included about $46,845 in
environmental cleanup costs. The deal, which includes both public and
private property, began taking shape five years ago, but complications
resulted from the large amount of pollution that had accumulated on the
site over the years.
Esrig said the store, which is slated to open within one year, will be
built from the ground up at a cost of approximately $3.4 million. Two
derelict buildings were demolished earlier this year, including the former
Topps, which closed four years ago. An adjacent lot will be used for parking.
The project is expected to yield 15 construction jobs and 25 jobs in the
Staples store itself, said a spokesman for the Economic Development Corp.
As for continued development in the area, Esrig said that within “the
first quarter of 2005” residents can expect to see more big-name
stores, though which ones he declined to say.
“It would be another big name, hopefully another big name retailer,”
said Esrig. “We’re looking to redevelop and we’d probably
demolish in a small commercial area. The area has a lot of work that has
to be done.”
In October, members of the Coney Island Development Corporation expect
to unveil a rough plan for the future of the neighborhood. Many property
owners say that once those plans are revealed, much of the area bordered
by Neptune Avenue to the north, the beach and boardwalk to the south,
Ocean Parkway to the east and West 37th Street to the west will also be
redeveloped.
“I think that once those plans come out, you’ll see guns blaring
away,” said Horace Bullard, a major property owner whose holdings
include land where the old Thunderbolt roller coaster once stood, next
to Keyspan Park
“Coney Island is a name known all over the world and you would spend
millions of dollars to get that kind of recognition,” Bullard said.
There’s definitely a lot of interest.”
