Developer Aims to Double Coney Island Affordable Project

The great gamble on Coney Island is Joe Sitt’s bid for a casino, but Proto Property Services is doubling down on its affordable housing development in the neighborhood — literally.

The Bronx-based developer filed a rezoning application to add to 2950 West 24th Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood, Crain’s reported. Proto already owns a 19-story, 360-unit building on the site, which it purchased in 2013 for $35.6 million.

Proto is looking to add a 17-story, 415-unit building dubbed the Ocean Queen. It would be situated directly behind the existing Ocean Towers with a shared courtyard between them.

Plans call for a 440,000-square-foot building with 15,000 square feet of community space and 10,000 square feet of retail. The community space would likely become a day care, while a grocery store would likely take up a big chunk of the retail space. The project would also add a playground and 143-car parking lot.

The entire multifamily portion of the development would consist of affordable units. While not yet set, the developer said residents would likely earn up to 60 percent of the area median income.

There’s a swath of affordable housing in the pipeline for Coney Island. Will Blodgett’s Tredway filed plans last month for a 180,000-square-foot building with 250 units on West 28th Street. Residents will need to be at least 62 years old and earn no more than 60 percent of the area median income.

Last year, Donald Capoccia and Joseph Ferrara’s BFC Partners advanced a plan for a 12-story, 430-unit affordable housing development on Surf Avenue, the final phase of a large project sponsored by the city.

Coney Island appeals to developers because of ocean proximity, subway access and relatively low land prices. Its appeal would likely shift — depending on the eye of the beholder — if Sitt’s Thor Equities lands a gaming license from the state and develops a $3 billion casino on land it owns from Stillwell Avenue to West 12th Street.

— Holden Walter-Warner