The New York City Economic Development Corporation has tapped Coney Island-based Rybak Development to lead the next phase of Coney Island’s major redevelopment efforts.
The announcement comes eight months after the mayor’s office issued a request for proposals for a developer to build a 500-unit project on Surf Avenue between West 21st and 22nd Streets.
The development is part of the city’s plans for the neighborhood, which include financing affordable housing projects, a more than $1 billion investment in the historic Coney Island Boardwalk and a $42 million renovation of the Abe Stark Sports Center. Rybak’s project is part of the city’s broader effort to build nearly 10,000 homes on city-owned land, including 1,500 on Coney Island West.
“Using public land for housing is a critical way to increase our supply,” Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of NYCEDC, said in a statement.
Rybak agreed to purchase 80,000 square feet of city-owned land, currently used for public parking, to build 505 mixed-income housing units. The project includes 25 percent of units designated as permanently affordable, ranging from 40 percent of area median income to 100 percent of area median income.
Sergey Rybak, the CEO of Rybak Development, said he expects the project to cost more than $350 million.
As part of the RFP, developers had to privately finance the deal and the project qualifies for the 485x tax credit, according to Rybak. He credited the company’s local expertise in informing how it underwrote the deal, pointing to a 499-unit, 1 million-square-foot rental building down the street that launched this past week.
“Coney Island has historically been overlooked due to the lack of new construction comparable to other areas in Brooklyn with buildings that are very well equipped and located near transportation,” Rybak said, noting that he plans to build larger units that he hopes will attract Brooklynites from across the borough.
The 800,000-square-foot project will receive an additional 175,000 square feet of development rights from the neighboring Coney Island Amphitheater. The project also includes 32,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, new structured parking and 65,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities.
Rybak will collaborate with Brooklyn-based developer IMC Architecture. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2030.
A ‘neighborhood revitalization’
The announcement comes during the waning days of Mayor Erc Adams’ administration, which has eased housing restrictions through the city’s Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning reforms, which would allow for the construction of 80,000 additional homes in the city. NYCEDC Chief Operating Officer Melissa Román Burch cited the relaxation of residential parking requirements as one of the features of the legislation that made the development possible.
The development, named the Tilyou Towers in honor of Steeplechase Park’s founder, is part of a much larger effort by the city to redevelop Coney Island through public works investments and public-private partnerships.
Rybak credited the city’s infrastructure investments with making the project workable. “This particular development is only possible thanks to the re-mapping of streets and the introduction of a new street that will complete the four sides of the property as well as the necessary flood and storm upgrades,” he said. “Previously, this number of homes would not have been possible.”
The city has more plans to invest in the area. The 2026 Capital Plan allocates more than $1 billion through 2032 for service improvements and beach and boardwalk construction.
The investment in the area marked a turning point for the city after a rezoning in 2009 yielded little for housing production. “This story actually goes back to a major rezoning that the NYCEDC led in 2009 that envisioned a revitalization of the entire neighborhood, involving hundreds of millions of investments in infrastructure,” said Román Burch.
In Coney Island West, two affordable housing projects launched in 2019 and 2022 and a third is expected to open in 2028. The city has also provided public grants to affordable and supportive housing projects in the area, including announcing $90 million in financing in June for a 420-unit affordable development from BFC Partners.
The Rybak development will consist of an 11-storey podium and two 28-storey towers, with outdoor amenities including an infinity pool, lounge, games area and playground.
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