Lost in some of the publicity about Coney Island redevelopment is the fact that developer Thor Equities wants to put several highrise condo towers on or near the boardwalk. One building would be up to 50 stories tall. The others would clock in at 40 stories. All would be in the current amusement zone, which has emerged as a significant point of contention. So, what might a 40-story building look like in Coney Island?
We were a little tired of our Coney Island Scale-O-Matic, so we were grateful when Adrian Kinloch who is the person behind the Brit in Brooklyn and the Only Coney blogs, hit us off with this little rendering that he created. While we’re certain that Thor’s buildings would have more architectural merit than this monolithic thing that looks like a 1960s public housing creation on steroids, it gives a sense of what people might look up and see from the beach someday. And, this is an understated version. The Wonder Wheel is 12 stories tall and the building shown is only about 35 stories.
Also, we realize that the highrises probably wouldn’t be located in this exact spot, which is the Astroland property, more or less, nonetheless, we think the rendering makes the point that the Coney Island future may look very tall. Very tall.
BONUS REMINDER: What promises to be a very interesting Save Coney Island demonstration takes place at City Hall tomorrow (3/30) at Noon. For details, check the item we posted yesterday or go to the Save Coney My Space page.
Related Post:
New Coney Island Tactic: Reshuffling the Deck
7 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // Mar 29, 2007 at 8:13 am
Why not put some dead trees in there to make it look more apocalyptic? Talk about “one sided”….
2 Anonymous // Mar 29, 2007 at 8:58 am
It is very misleading to write the the building in the rendering is only about 35 stories tall when 1) you can’t see the top and 2) if you count the windows up the right side you get 43-45 stories. I say your rendering is unfair.
3 Bob // Mar 29, 2007 at 9:34 am
Developers: if you’re going to post comments on a development blog, please have some courage and identify yourself as a developer. Anyone can easily see through your thin veil, but we might just respect you a little more if you approached things with a bit more honesty.
4 Anonymous // Mar 29, 2007 at 10:06 am
What a dumb rendering. I bet it will be more glassy and will not look like the housing projects near by.
5 Anonymous // Mar 29, 2007 at 10:32 am
I had the second comment and I am not a developer. I just don’t like it when people use misleading information to make a point.
6 "tim" // Mar 29, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Calling yourself Bob is hardly indentifying yourself. But anyway…
Misleading indeed. At least GL made note of the fact that the building would look better and not be in that spot. But how about the fact that the building would be part of a much larger development and would fit in with the context, instead of being a giant building surrounded by empty lots, chain-link fences and a depressing lack of color?
In other words, there is in no way an idea of how a 40 story building would blend in Coney Island. You guys make Al Jazeera seem objective.
7 Anonymous // Mar 30, 2007 at 7:04 am
The building shown is at least 46 floors (shown) and judging by the windows is a low income development from the 40s. The proposed development i believe would have larger windows, likely be glassy, and have much more architectural interest than what is shown.