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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 145-05
April 19, 2005

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, BOROUGH PRESIDENT JAMES P. MOLINARO AND BLUMENFELD DEVELOPMENT GROUP BREAK GROUND FOR $100 MILLION RETAIL CENTER IN CHARLESTON, STATEN ISLAND

Project Will Bring Quality Shopping and Nearly 1,200 Permanent and Construction Jobs

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today was joined today by Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro and Blumenfeld Development Group President Edward Blumenfeld to announce a new retail center for Bricktown Centre at Charleston. The new retail center will include Home Depot, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as other retail and restaurants. Blumenfeld Development Group and the retailers plan to invest more than $100 million in the development, including $15 million for acquisition of the 42-acre site from the City. The project will contain approximately 400,000 square feet of retail space and parking to accommodate more than 1,700 cars. It will also create about 550 permanent jobs and 630 construction jobs. Joining the Mayor was New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) President Andrew M. Alper, BDG Principal Jon Cohen and Bed Bath & Beyond President and CEO Steven Temares.

"This project is great for Staten Island and the entire City," said Mayor Bloomberg. "It will create more than 1,200 jobs and provide the residents of Staten Island with a modern, attractive retail center, with plenty of parking for shoppers. The project is a result of the tremendous cooperation of community representatives, environmental groups, and local elected officials, as well as the City. I thank Borough President Molinaro and other elected officials, especially Councilmember Andrew Lanza, for their support.   I want to thank the Blumenfeld Development Group and EDC for ensuring that local needs were met while achieving the City's and developer's economic development goals."

The Bricktown Centre site is located in the Charleston section of Staten Island on the Southwest Shore, bounded to the south and east by Veterans Road. In addition to retail outlets and parking improvements, the developer will invest $16 million in on-site and off-site infrastructure improvements including access roads, utilities, storm water control devices, landscaping, traffic signals and a 16-foot wide greenway with a bicycle and pedestrian path. The City will extend the greenway 950 feet north along Veterans Road to Englewood Avenue. In addition to Bricktown Centre are plans for a 42-acres park and nature preserve, land that can be used for a school, a site for senior housing and five acres for a community garden. 

"After more than 30 years of uncertainty, it took the efforts of Mayor Bloomberg to resolve the concerns of the Charleston community," said Borough President Molinaro. "Soon, we will have a modern shopping center that will make it unnecessary for residents in Charleston and all of Staten Island to cross the bridge to New Jersey to shop at popular stores such as Target and Bed Bath & Beyond. I am thankful to Mayor Bloomberg and EDC for helping me make the Charleston center a reality."

"This is an exciting and innovative chapter in the history of our company," said Blumenfeld Principal Jon Cohen. "Through a powerful public, private partnership with the Mayor, Borough Hall, and the community at large, we are on the verge of creating new retail space that will add immeasurably to the quality of life enjoyed by the residents of Staten Island. It will bring new and exciting dimension to retail development, contributing to the property tax base and adding genuine depth to the borough's economy."

"We are proud to be a tenant in several prominent retail centers in the Boroughs, and are thrilled to bring Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon Discount and Bed Bath & Beyond to Bricktown Centre at Charleston, the City's newest exciting retail project." said Steven Temares, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. "We work hard to earn the loyalty of our customers.  We look forward to exceeding our customers' expectations in our second store on Staten Island."

"One of this Administration's economic development goals is to solve previously intractable problems, and this project is an excellent example of that," said EDC President Alper. "Under Mayor Bloomberg's leadership, the process was expedited and the City worked with a host of stakeholders to address economic and environmental factors, as well as community needs. I want to thank all of the parties that worked tirelessly on this important project and I'm proud EDC played a pivotal role in the process."

EDC is spearheading several other important projects in Staten Island. The renovation of the St. George Ferry Terminal is nearing completion. A design consultant has been selected for the North Shore Bikeway/Esplanade, which will establish a mile-long pedestrian and bikeway between the ferry terminal and the Stapleton waterfront. A Request for Expressions of Interest has been issued to solicit ideas for the development of the historic Farm Colony site. Mayor Bloomberg's Homeport Task Force, working with a team of prominent consultants, finalized the New Stapleton Waterfront Plan for the 36-acre site that will include approximately 350 residential units, ground floor retail, a farmers market, a restaurant/banquet facility and a community-oriented sports complex. Consultants are working on engineering and landscape design for the $66 million dollar infrastructure project that will spur the redevelopment. Construction on the Staten Island Railroad is underway, in cooperation with the Port Authority. Reactivation of the eight-mile railroad will allow direct rail service to the New York Container Terminal at Howland Hook, the Fresh Kills Transfer Station, Visy Paper and VanBro Corp.







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