New Looks, Details For Staten Island's Anticipated Apartments

"If you build it, they will come," said no one ever about Staten Island, but that's not stopping a handful of developers from believing it. Construction on the borough's north shore has picked up as prices in Brooklyn and Queens continue to rise. Lighthouse Point, a mixed-use development coming to the landmarked United States Lighthouse Service Depot in St. George, has been in the pipeline since January 2014 but hasn't made a whole lot of progress. The Times says that, after a delay, the Triangle Equities development will break ground in late summer on a 12-story, 116-apartment tower that will have retail, restaurants, and offices. The project will also include a 180-room hotel whose lobby will be housed in one of the historic lighthouse buildings. If there's any question about what kind of crowd the development hopes to attract, the fact that Triangle Equities suggested that vaults used to house flammable oil under the site in its heyday be turned into wine and cheese cellars should say a whole lot.

Also rising on the north shore is Ironstate Development's URL Staten Island, which seems like it will be the borough's answer to Brooklyn's too-hip artist commune Castlebraid. Like Castlebraid, URL Staten Island will have some seriously aggressive amenities. As per the Times,

URL will also have a 5,000-square-foot plot planted with vegetables that can be purchased from an on-site farm stand. Or, for a fee, residents will be able to request that its kale, spinach, rainbow chard and mizuna be prepared by a chef who will do double duty as the head farmer, said Mr. Barry, who was sifting through résumés for the post as he spoke. People will be able to have their unpronounceable vegetables prepared and tend to their rooftop bees pretty soon. Construction has started on URL's 900 rentals, which will be shared between two buildings, and the Times says that the project's first phase of 571 studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms will open this fall. Because real estate—even on Staten Island—studios will ask from $1,600 and two-bedrooms will ask from $2,800.
· Staten Island's Turning Point? [NYT]
· Developer Hopes to Lure Young Artists, Make S.I. Cool [Curbed]
· All Lighthouse Point coverage [Curbed]
· All Staten Island coverage [Curbed]