As Midwood’s Orthodox and immigrant communities grow, residential construction will keep booming, and with it, commercial development. The latest example of economic progress in the working class Brooklyn neighborhood are two sizable retail and medical office expansions at 1989 and 2003 Coney Island Avenue, between Avenue P and Quentin Road.
Alteration applications were filed today to add three stories to no. 2003. It would grow from 6,567 square feet to 16,000 square feet, and the roof line would rise from 24 to 60 feet. The renovated five story structure would have 3,886 square feet of retail on the ground floor, topped by four stories of community facilities.
Meanwhile at no. 1989, three two-story buildings would be combined and get an extra story. They would gain 9,600 square feet, for a new and improved building measuring 27,913 square feet. There would be 9,913 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 18,000 square feet of community facilities on the top two floors.
Together, the newly expanded properties would offer 140 feet of frontage along the busy four-lane thoroughfare.
The taller expansion is possible because the area was rezoned in 2005, allowing slightly larger commercial projects along Coney Island Avenue. Meanwhile, the residential areas next door were partially down zoned, imposing height limits and limiting density in areas where the previous zoning hadn’t capped the heights for new buildings.
The developer is Jeffrey Shemia of HS Home Care, based a few blocks north on Coney Island Avenue. He purchased the four small buildings at 1987-2003 Coney Island Avenue for $7,750,000 in January of 2014. Garfinkel Architects applied for the permit.
The stretch of 20-foot-wide storefronts was once home to an aluminum sign-making business and a building supply company. Once those tenants left, the landlord took down the rather elaborate awning and faced the buildings with brick.
1987-2003 Coney Island Avenue in 2011, image via Google Maps
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