June 18, 2007
By Eugene Gilligan, Senior Editor
Developer Thor Equities has dropped its ambitious plans for a residential component (pictured) for the $2 billion redevelopment of Coney Island, according to reports in today's Daily News and New York Times.
The original plan for the redevelopment included nearly a million square feet of residential development, including a multi-story residential tower. The plan now reportedly calls for three hotels that will include 400 time-share units.
Thor's original redevelopment plan for Coney Island has caused controversy, as some civic leaders and city officials have expressed reservations about placing residences in the middle of an all-hours entertainment district.
"Having hit bottom, Coney Island is in dire need of salvation," said a spokesman for Thor Equities in a statement issued today. "After hearing the concerns of the community and city administration, Thor has created a plan that eliminates the residential component of the proposal, while still allowing the largest single investment ever in the amusement district."
The switch in uses from residential to hotel "is at least in keeping with Coney Island's historical nature," Thomas McConnell, senior managing director of financial services in the hotel transactions group for Cushman & Wakefield Inc. told CPN.
In fact, hotel development in Coney Island is in keeping with the increased level of hotel construction in Brooklyn, as the borough has seen an increased level of hotel development in recent years, McConnell said. He predicted that Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, near the gigantic Atlantic Yards mixed-use development, should see more hotel development in the future.
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