BFC Partners JV Completes $189M Affordable Community in Brooklyn
The developers finished the second phase of a project that will total 1,300 units.
BFC Partners, together with L+M Development Partners and Taconic Investment Partners has opened the second phase of Coney Island II, an affordable community in Brooklyn, N.Y. The property encompasses 376 units, while the greater multi-phase development will total 1,300 units.
The team broke ground in 2022 and, at the time, development costs rose to $189 million. The New York City Housing Development Corp. issued a $139 million construction loan that same year, Yardi Matrix data shows. One year later, construction was nearly complete as a brick facade enveloped the structure, with scaffolding and netting covering much of its surface.
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S9 Architecture and Engineering provided design services while BFC Partners’ in-house crew served as the general contractor. Additional partners included the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, along with Wells Fargo.
The 10-story community comprises a mix of studio and one- to three-bedroom apartments totaling 282,095 square feet. Of the 376 total, 57 units are restricted for formerly homeless individuals while the remainder caters to residents earning between 40 and 90 percent of Area Median Income.
Coney Island II also has 11,000 square feet of retail and 9,000 square feet of community space, as well as a 2,500-square-foot primary care facility operated by NYC Health + Hospitals. Amenities include a landscaped roof deck, a gym, children’s play area and a tenant lounge, among others.
Located at 1607 Surf Ave., the community is within walking distance of a beach, several amusement parks, an art gallery, as well as multiple transit stops including the Stillwell Avenue subway station. Downtown Brooklyn is about 13 miles north.
A multi-phase affordable Brooklyn project
Phase one consists of two, 16-story towers with a combined unit count of 446. BFC Partners alongside L+M Development Partners and Taconic Investment Partners broke ground on the $253.9 million community in 2018. Three years later, the fully affordable property debuted. The New York City Human Resources Administration operates a facility on the premises.
The third and final phase is slated to deliver 430 affordable units—including 65 apartments catering to formerly homeless residents—to Coney Island across a 421,740-square-foot development. Similarly to phase two, the final iteration will also consist of 10,749 square feet of retail and 9,679 square feet of community space. The project is expected to open in 2027.
Brooklyn affordable deliveries steady
In October, Brooklyn’s supply pipeline included upward of 4,800 units under construction across 20 fully affordable projects of 50 units or more, Yardi Matrix data shows. More than 7,400 affordable units were in the planning and permitting stages.
One such development is Ocean Queen—currently in the permitting phase—a 415-unit affordable project by Proto Property Services. The developer filed a rezoning application in August, Crain’s reported. The 19-story tower would rise less than 1 mile from Coney Island II, if plans remain in place.
Year-to-date through October, developers completed more than 1,700 units throughout fully affordable Brooklyn communities, Yardi Matrix data reveals. These made up nearly half of the total multifamily completions—more than 3,600 units.
In March, HELP USA debuted HELP ONE’s first phase, a 255-unit affordable community in Brooklyn. The project was a redevelopment that cost $129 million.
