New rides and a boutique hotel to help reawaken Coney Island
Image: Luca Vanzella via Flickr
On the heels of news that Coney Island will be getting its first new hotel in 50 years, plans have surfaced for a 150,000-square-foot expansion of Luna Park that will bring new rides, food and arcade games. The faded but beloved seaside icon has been in the news recently for a renewed pace of development that many see as new promise for the area. A log flume ride, zip lines and a ropes course are coming to the block between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk and between West 15th and West 16th streets, with food, arcade games and seating planned for two more streets nearby. And according to NY1, developer PYE Properties has proposed a boutique hotel in the historic Shore Theater, a 1920s landmark that has fallen into disrepair and has been vacant since 1978, attracting the homeless and graffiti but little attention.
The former theater at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues, designated as a city landmark in 2010, was once a lively entertainment venue, offering Vaudeville shows and movies in a 2,472-seat auditorium. Sweeping new plans include approximately 50 rooms, banquet space and a “multicultural spa” geared toward families as well as a rooftop restaurant and lounge and a ground floor cafe and retail, though there have been no renderings released yet. The new hotel is expected to open in 2021.
Given the building’s landmarked status, the developer will need to work with the city to preserve its exterior. Director of Operations at PYE Properties Eduard Yadgarov said, “From our facade designers to conservateurs to preservation consultants, we’ve assembled a great team, companies that have been around helping us with the design. This is a very important piece to Coney Island to us and we understand the significant importance.”
The new log flume ride. Photo Credit: NYCEDC
And on the amusement front, Luna Park’s operator Central Amusement International was chosen to develop city-owned property within the park under a 10-year lease agreement. The new adventure park is set to open next summer, though the water ride won’t be up and running until 2020.
New ropes course, called “The Rope Circus.” Photo Credit: NYCEDC
New open air food and entertainment area. Photo Credit: NYCEDC
The city’s Economic Development Corporation put out a call for proposals last year for the 150,000-square-foot property comprising parcels of land between West 10th and West 16th streets, three of which were city-owned, with two addtional purchased from private owners. President of Central Amusement International Alessandro Zamperla said that developing the city-owned sites will expand the park by 50 percent, to 450,000 square feet: “We are adding new and more exciting attractions, but also enhancing the atmosphere by adding more places where you can just sit and relax and enjoy some shade,”
[Via NY1]
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