(Mark your calendars: RealShare New York Oct. 12 in New York.)

NEW YORK CITY-A Request for Expressions of Interest has been issued for the development of more than 14 acres of city-owned land on Staten Island bordering the St. George ferry terminal, city officials said Friday. The move is drawing accolades from local groups, who have long waited for traffic in and out of the ferry to be leveraged for the economic good of the area.

“We saw that site as the last great development site in St. George,” Cesar Claro, president and CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corp. tells GlobeSt.com. Six years ago, SIEDC hired ARUP, a consulting and design firm, to create a development and concept plan. “At the time we had had discussions with Deputy Mayor Doctoroff about that site and he told us that if we came back with a plan that was real and that promoted development at that site, that he would get the city EDC to issue an RFP to develop it.”

Claro says that by the time the ARUP plan was developed, Doctoroff was gone. “It took a few years to convince the city after that,” he says. “But better late than never.

According to a city-issued news release, the RFEI is based upon several development goals for Staten Island. These include job creation and overall economic impact on the borough.

One way to increase the positive economic impact, many believe, is to create a thriving retail component around the St. George ferry terminal. 

“Two million tourists get off of the ferry every year and St. George is a great place to capture the attention of those tourists,” says Leticia Remauro, chair of Community Board #1 on Staten Island. “We’re thrilled that the city has recognized what we’ve been saying all along.”

Claro, the SIEDC president, agrees that incorporating a commercial component will be key. However, he says, its development will hinge on other factors. “We think that the only way a developer can afford to make the investment in the parking and the commercial development, which is the riskier part, is if they’re allowed to do housing,” he says. “The money that the developer is going to make on the housing portion in a sense subsidizes the investment in the parking and in the commercial development.”

Empty housing units already exist in the area, but vibrant and occupied housing options are key. In May, as GlobeSt.com reported, the Center for an Urban Future issued a report citing challenges that the borough faces. Among them was a lack of housing density around transportation hubs, specifically the St. George ferry terminal.

Both of the sites in question are now being used as parking for the Richmond County Bank Ballpark and are bisected by the park. The site to the north is roughly 7.4 acres, while the site to the south is roughly 6.7 acres.

In addition to Community Board One and the SIEDC, the coalition of officials and agencies backing the RFEI include Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has worked to develop the waterfront along all boroughs; Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro; City Council Member Debi Rose; and Congressman Michael Grimm.

Remauro, the Community Board #1 chair, says that the community board will do what it can to see the plan to fruition as well. “This is a fabulous opportunity to really jump start development in St. George,” she says. “We’ll do whatever we can to ensure that the best possible development comes about in the St. George area.”

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