Dive Insight:
The information in building permits and other project documents filed with local authorities are expectedly lackluster, so they don’t reflect the amenities that aren’t part of the building’s structure like concierge services or the extras offered as part of the rooftop deck. Even so, 540 Fulton is definitely on a smaller scale when compared to what’s in the works for the borough’s Coney Island.
On tap for the community once best known for its amusement park offerings are new mixed-use projects, including the three-block, 1,000-unit Taconic Investment Partners project, which will have 80,000 square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail. Also coming soon will be Ocean Dreams, a 400-unit residential complex. The relatively low price of land has sent developers scrambling to snap up property there, and Coney Island is currently being eyed for a new South Brooklyn office hub. Once considered too far from Manhattan to be a viable living option for some, alternative transportation services like Uber and Lyft, as well as an hour’s subway trip, have put the community in the same range as other New York metro suburbs.
But not everyone is happy about the new development in some parts of Brooklyn. Alloy Development is planning to build a 74-story, 1,000-foot-tall residential building there, and lovers of the nearby brownstones and Victorian homes are complaining that the structure will not fit in with the aesthetic or density of the neighborhood. Whether it turns into a legal battle is still unknown, but activists could be spurred on by the success of Manhattan’s Sutton Place residents whose rezoning efforts against high-density high-rises has stalled at least one project.
The article was published on constructiondive.com