NYC Selects Rybak as Developer for 505-Unit Coney Island Housing Project
By Isabelle Durso October 28, 2025 5:04 pm
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The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has chosen Rybak Development to build more than 500 units of mixed-income housing on Brooklyn’s Coney Island, according to a Tuesday announcement.
As part of the city’s redevelopment project called Coney Island West, the Coney Island-based Rybak will convert “Parcel A” — an 80,000-square-foot, city-owned lot primarily used for parking on Surf Avenue between West 21st and West 22nd streets — into a $350 million residential complex called Tilyou Towers (named after George Tilyou, founder of Coney Island’s original Steeplechase Park).
The project, designed by Brooklyn-based IMC Architecture, will comprise 505 apartments — 383 market-rate and 122 affordable rental units — along with 32,000 square feet of retail and community space, 65,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities, and 160 parking spaces, the announcement said.
“We feel strongly that this section of Brooklyn is ripe for market-rate residential development, and we expect a strong interest from both local residents and New Yorkers from other parts of the city,” Jason Reznik, development principal at Rybak, said in a statement to Commercial Observer.
Equity financing for Tilyou Towers is being provided by Rybak’s ownership team, Reznik added.
News of Rybak’s involvement in the project comes after the NYCEDC issued a request for proposals in February for the site. The NYCEDC chose Rybak following a “competitive” process, and the Tilyou Towers project is set to be completed by 2030, according to the announcement.
The project also comes as part of Mayor Eric Adams’s broader housing plan for Coney Island, which envisions 1,500 new homes, a reconstruction of the historic Riegelmann Boardwalk, a $42 million renovation of the Abe Stark Sports Center, and investments into the neighborhood’s streets and sewers.
“For too long, finding a home in Coney Island has been a roller coaster ride; our administration promised to change that by building hundreds of new affordable homes to help more New Yorkers raise their family in this beloved neighborhood,” Adams said in a statement. “Tilyou Towers will not only honor an iconic New Yorker whose energy and efforts still shape our city today; it will give 500 families a new home and, once again, demonstrate how we are the most pro-housing administration in city history.”
Rybak’s project — which is expected to deliver the first phase of Adams’s housing plan — will comprise two 28-story towers featuring a range of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom residences, according to the announcement. The development will also feature an infinity swimming pool, a gaming area, a lounge, and a children’s playground, as well as pet-friendly services.
The building will also be reminiscent of its landscape: the beach.
“The new building’s sand-toned and taupe façade will reference warm hues of the sun and nearby ocean beaches, while undulating lines of varied-sized windows on the structure’s corners will remind the passersby of ocean waves,” Eugene Mekhtiyev, principal of IMC Architecture, said in a statement. “It will serve the neighborhood residents as well as nearly 6 million annual visitors to Coney Island’s attractions.”
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
