It's becoming known as Staten Island's newest housing hotspot. With waterfront views of the Verrazano and Manhattan, the developer of Urby hopes to draw new tenants from throughout the New York City area.
"We can see already that the product is extremely well received and that this is going to be a vibrant thriving little part of Staten Island," said Urby CEO Dave Barry.
Barry hosted a press tour Tuesday of the latest building to open at the Stapleton Homeport site.
It brings the total number of market rate apartments to 450. Eighty are already leased.
The latest building includes an urban farm, built on top of the complexes parking garage.
What started as a mound of dirt, now features 50 different crops. Zaro Bates is the resident farmer.
"It's been starting to gain customers that are coming back to us and telling us that our food is making them feel better, I think that's like, I could cry when I think about that," Bates said.
The new building also includes a fitness center and pool deck. A coffee shop is the latest retail outlet to open at the site.
Introductory apartment rents range from $1500 a month for a studio to $2500 for a 2 bedroom if you sign a 14 month lease.
The pricing surprised this editor from real estate website 'Curbed New York.'
"They are much lower than what we're seeing in Manhattan and Brooklyn yet they're offering the same amenities if not more," said Curbed NY Editor Zoe Rosenberg.
While the new complex has impressed many, the area surrounding it has been a cause for concern for some. The developer hopes the success of this project will help spur new development and help turn the area around.
"I can already feel that in this Bay Street Corridor, Tappan Park, this kind of North part of Staten Island, things are starting to move, things are starting to stiffen," said Barry.
He is so confident, construction is set to begin on URBY's second phase; 330 more apartments are slated to be built later this year.