The Annadale neighborhood of Staten Island has seen a population spike and a 20 percent increase in year-over-year listing prices, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Low crime, good schools and convenient transit connections to both other parts of the borough and Midtown Manhattan have contributed to the area’s development boom. The transformation of the nearby Fresh Kills landfill has also bolstered interest. The population of Community District 3, which includes Annadale, grew 26% between 1990 and 2010, to 160,209, according to the community district’s figures, seen by the Journal.
Townhouses in Annadale can run from $200,000 to over $1 million for a large waterfront home, the Journal said. The median listing price in the area was $600,000, according to Zillow, representing a 20 percent year-over-year increase.
But residents and business owners are looking to manage this growth and preserve the small-town character of the neighborhood.
“If you were a native islander or if you lived here before the late ’70s-early ’80s, there were a lot more dirt roads, a lot more room, a lot less traffic lights,” local business owner Fred Shayewitz told the Journal. But it still has “that suburban touch, it’s still a quaint little village,” he said. [WSJ] – Hiten Samtani