The city dropped the hammer yesterday on a plan to build a Vegas-style entertainment complex in Coney Island, beating developer Thor Equities to a prime acre of beachfront real estate needed for the $1.5 billion project.
The deal to buy part of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park also boosts the city’s standing in a two-year game of chicken with Thor CEO Joe Sitt.
And with the $11 million deal, the Bloomberg administration boosted its own effort to bring new amusements to the fabled boardwalk.
The city now owns four of nine acres needed for a new amusement park that Bloomberg wants to build as part of a planned 47-acre rezoning for Coney Island.
“This important deal brings us one step closer to our twin goals of maintaining what is best about Coney Island, while simultaneously building a vibrant, modern mixed-use community,” said Seth Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corp.
Sitt, who owns most of the current amusement district, had been in a contract to buy the acre for the same $11 million price. But he allowed the deal to lapse before a September deadline, said the current property owner, Jack Ward.
“It seemed as if Thor wasn’t interested anymore, and the city seems really eager to go forward with its plans,” said Jack Ward, whose family bought the parcel in 1879 and previously operated amusements in Coney Island.
While Sitt declined comment, various Coney Island sources said the developer is still very interested in Ward’s land.
He needs it to control 11 contiguous acres stretching along the boardwalk from Astroland Park to Stillwell Avenue. The parcel sits on the West 12th Street beachfront and is currently occupied by kiddie rides.
“I bet he’s fuming right now,” said a source.
The 47-acre rezoning plan initially set aside 15 acres for a new amusement park, but the proposal to classify parkland was cut to nine acres in April by the city, to the dismay of many Coney Islanders.
This was done, in part, because the city couldn’t get Sitt to sell it the land needed for the new park.
Officials also hoped he’d be receptive if the administration extended an olive branch to let him build hotels, indoor amusements and retail on at least some of his land outside the boundaries of the new park plan.
But both sides are still far apart, and many believe Sitt wants to wait out Bloomberg, whose final term expires next year, and take his chances with the next administration.
But with the City Council considering revising term limits so Bloomberg could seek an extra four-year term, Sitt could be running out of options except to sell the city his land for the best deal he can get, said one city official.
The Ward property is currently being leased to the Vourderis family, which operates Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and owns the remainder of Deno’s, including the landmarked Wonder Wheel.
The lease runs through 2020
The Vourderis clan also owns a small portion of land eyed for the mayor’s planned park. A spokesman for the family said it was delighted that the city bought the Ward tract but the family has no plans to sell off the remainder of Deno’s.
The 150-foot-high Wonder Wheel, which has been part of Coney Island for 88 years, is not part of the sale.