A victim of the bust, developer’s Staten Island projects get new life

Several Staten Island projects abandoned by developer Leib Puretz after the credit bust are gearing up for a revival, giving hope to locals that the borough is set for a resurgence of its own.

According to Staten Island Advance, the lender who took control of the View, a 95 percent complete 40-unit condominium at the corner of Richmond Terrace and Nicholas Avenue on the North Shore planned by Puretz, has finally hit the market with Massey Knakal Realty Services, meaning it could soon be on the road to completion.

Elsewhere on the North Shore, buyers have picked up Puretz’s failed loans for a 16-story, 164-unit condo in St. George and a 400,000-square-foot outlet mall in Charleston. And Meadow Partners received financing help for Puretz condominium projects, the Pointe and the Pearl, at 155 and 130 Bay Street Landing, respectively.

Delays in obtaining the approval for some of these projects, the bust of the credit market and the tumble of the housing market caused Puretz to foreclose on $80 million of loans for his projects.

“Puretz had a good vision, I was rooting for him,” said Michael Behar, chairman of the Downtown Staten Island Council.

Now the projects are coming back to life and could be a boost to the entire North Shore.

“We need more of a critical mass in the neighborhood,” said Theo Dorian, president of the St. George Civic Association. “We need a diversity of residents. The retail climate is tough. It is very, very difficult for it to establish itself here. If there are more residents, there is more demand for those businesses.” [SILive]