Adams Announces Partners to Build 1,100 New Homes on Coney Island

Mayor Eric Adams has announced new partners to build roughly 1,100 new homes in Brooklyn’s Coney Island.

As part of Adams’s broader housing plan for the tourist summer hotspot, the city will partner with BFC Partners Development to complete Coney Island Phase III, which will bring 420 affordable apartments, roughly 10,700 square feet of commercial space and roughly 9,700 square feet of community facility space to the area, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Coney Island Phase I was completed in 2023 and created 446 affordable housing units, as well as 15,000 square feet of retail space and 66,000 square feet of office space for the New York City Housing Resources Administration, while Coney Island Phase II created another 376 units, 20,000 square feet of retail and community space, and a 2,500-square-foot NYC Health + Hospitals facility, the announcement said.

The Phase III development at 1709 Surf Avenue will be supported by more than $90 million in subsidy from the Adams administration, as well as a $116 million construction loan supported by the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

“At BFC Partners, we remain committed to building and preserving high-quality affordable housing,” Win Wharton, principal at BFC Partners, said in a statement. “We are especially proud of our work in Coney Island, where projects like this play a vital role in strengthening and stabilizing New York City’s neighborhoods.”

In addition, the city will partner with Settlement Housing Fund to build another 178 affordable units as part of the nearby Coney Landing Project at 2952 West 28th Street, according to the announcement.

“With 60 percent of units dedicated to supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals and families, and additional affordable apartments ranging from 30 percent to 60 percent of the Area Median Income, this project stands as a powerful response to the strong need for more affordable housing across New York City,” Judy Herbstman, president of Settlement Housing Fund, said in a statement.

The two partnerships come after the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) issued a request for proposals in February for an 80,000-square-foot, city-owned site on Surf Avenue between West 21st and West 22nd streets for a project called Coney Island West, which is set to create more than 500 mixed-income homes, 25 percent of which will be affordable, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

The EDC will select a developer for Coney Island West by the end of the year, the announcement said. Combined, all three projects will deliver roughly 1,100 new homes across Coney Island over the next three years.

“Finding a home in Coney Island should not be a rollercoaster ride,” Adams said in a statement. “That’s why we’re creating 1,100 new homes in this neighborhood so that more families can live in this iconic New York City community.

“But we’re not stopping with Brooklyn — our administration is shattering affordable housing records, year after year, and advancing generational projects across all five boroughs to make New York City the best place to raise a family,” Adams added.

Adams’s plans for Coney Island also include a renovation of the Riegelmann Boardwalk, a $42 million renovation of the Abe Stark Sports Center and improvements to the neighborhood’s streets and sewers, according to the announcement.

Meanwhile, plans for a shiny new casino on Coney Island are also moving forward.

Last month, Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends finalized their plans for a $3 billion casino development in the neighborhood, which is set to include a 500-room hotel, a 2,500-seat concert venue, 70,000 square feet of retail space, and 90,000 square feet of meeting and event space, as CO previously reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.