So wait, Staten Island is cool now?

Although Staten Island is often referred to as New York City’s forgotten borough, this might not be the case for much longer.

New projects and rising real estate prices have started to arrive on the borough’s North Shore, with New Yorkers taking advantage of its 25-minute ferry commute to Manhattan and great views of the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The area consists of the St. George, Stapleton, New Brighton and Tompkinsville neighborhoods, and residential and commercial prices have risen on the North Shore by an average of 30 percent since 2012. However, land is still significantly cheaper than in other parts of New York City with an average price of $80 per square foot on a buildable lot.

Major projects coming to the neighborhoods include Triangle Equities and Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ 175-key Westin hotel next to the ferry terminal and Empire Outlets NYC, an outlet mall from BFC Partners with 100 stores.

Hipsters have started to take notice of the borough as well, according to EPS Contracting owner Ettore Mazzei. He told the Journal that young people getting priced out of Brooklyn have started to take a look at Staten Island.

“They want to be in the ground floor of A Happening Place,” he said. [WSJ] – Eddie Small