Amusing the Zillion

Surf Ave. Lot for Lease next to Stillwell Terminal. December 23, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Last week leases went out to two fast food restaurants for space in a two-story commercial building to be built on the long vacant lot next to Coney Island’s Stillwell Terminal. Built to suit/subdivide, the new building will have 10,000 square feet on the first floor and 5,000 square feet on the second floor.

Although the broker could not disclose the names of the restaurants until the leases are signed, the Coney Island Rumor Mill has been saying for weeks that Popeye’s Chicken would reopen at this location. Popeye’s owner began looking at space on the north side of Surf after getting booted out of the Henderson Building by Thor Equities. Popeye’s had been at the Henderson location for 27 years.

ATZ obtained the plans for the 1223 Surf Avenue building from broker Joe Vitacco of Jacob Gold Realty. “We sent out leases for two spaces, both on the left side of the property. They will be fast food,” said Vitacco. But there’s still room for more. “The remaining space, which is about 4,500 square feet, could be a restaurant by itself or in conjunction with the 5,000 square foot second floor that will have a 4,500 square foot terrace overlooking Surf. There will be an elevator connecting the first and second floors. The second floor will be 22 feet above grade and will have a panoramic view of the ocean.” The plans for the second story show a terrace that is approximately 27 feet deep by 65 feet wide. Takers?

Second Floor: Plan for Two Story Commercial Building at 1223 Surf Avenue in Coney Island

When ATZ asked what’s the other fast food restaurant? Vitacco said, “You’ll be surprised.” If you’d like to hazard a guess, go right ahead and post a comment. Keep in mind that Stillwell Terminal already has Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins and Subway franchises. There’s a McDonald’s Cafe at Stillwell and Mermaid Avenues.

According to Vitacco, the price of the lease depends upon how much work the tenant requires of the landlord beyond a shell. “We are leaving that on a case by case decision,” he says. “The plans have been filed we need approval then permits then we will have an idea as when it will be ready.” The 1223 Surf Avenue property was previously owned by Horace Bullard, who also owns the nearby Shore Theater, which is for sale for $12 million. Vitacco represented Bullard in the sale of this property to Fox 18 Realty LLC and now has the exclusive to represent the owner in the leasing of the property.

First Floor: Plan for Two Story Commercial Building 1223 Surf Avenue in Coney Island

The lot has been vacant since 2001, when the Giuliani administration repeatedly ticketed and finally got rid of the flea market that had operated on the lot since the 1980s. The headline in the Daily News read “CONEY SMALL BIZ BLITZ STORM OF TICKETS TIED TO DEBUT OF CYCLONES.”

Prior to the flea market, independent rides have come and gone for as far back as anyone can recall. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the Pinto Brothers, who also manufactured kiddie rides on 8th Street in Coney Island, operated a Whip here and a Crazy Ghost ride nearby. In the 1960s this location was home to McCullough’s Illions carousel, which was moved from Surf and 15th Street, until it was dismantled in 1968. A Sky Rapids water slide a Jumbo coaster that resembled a Jumbo Jet, and go karts took turns operating there in the 1970s.

UPDATE August 2, 2012

New Building Breaks Ground Next to Coney Island’s Stillwell Terminal

Sky Rapids Ride on Surf Avenue, Coney Island January 1, 1979. Photo by Abe Feinstein via Coney Island History Project

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August 23, 2010: Vid: Thor’s Coney Island: After 3 Decades, Last Supper at Popeye’s & Au Revoir Souvenirs

May 11, 2010: 21st Century Bars: Coney Island’s Freak Bar Featured in New Book