Historic Jacob Riis Park bathhouse lands financing for renovations

BY EDDIE SMALL

The development team behind renovations planned for the historic Jacob Riis Park bathhouse, following the extensive damages it suffered during Superstorm Sandy, has landed $47.5 million in financing to move ahead with the project.

cida and a $15 million historic tax credit equity investment from Foss & Co. Work on the Rockaway Beach project began in February, and the developers expect to complete it by the summer of 2024.

The bathhouse dates back to 1932 but had been underutilized for almost 50 years. It was hit hard during Superstorm Sandy, which destroyed its doors and window coverings and knocked down its courtyard wall.

lease for the bathhouse with the National Park Service in October.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $65 million, and the developers will put up the remaining $17.5 million themselves.

Structural additions

tender at the club Limelight in 1996 when she met Victor Calderone, a DJ who helped Madonna produce her club-music-inflected hit album Ray of Light

Today Victor Calderone, who has also remixed songs by Beyoncé, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson, regularly spins in Tokyo, Tel Aviv and New York. ■

CBSK Developers, Brooklyn Bazaar and Aulder Capital closed on the money, split between a $32.5 million construction loan from Pro-

Jacob Riis Park became part of the National Park Service in 1972. The federal agency selected events and concession company Brooklyn Bazaar to renovate the bathhouse following an RFP process. Brooklyn Bazaar and development partner CBSK inked a 60-year

The overhaul is starting with a renovation of the building’s facade, windows and turrets. The developers will also add a rooftop restaurant, a beachfront bar, ground-floor eateries and retailers selling beach supplies to the structure.

The project will bring 28 hotel rooms to the bathhouse, along with a catering hall, event spaces, and a new pool as well as lounge areas to its outdoor courtyard. The renovations will preserve the famous Byz- antine, Moorish and Moderne influences in the bathhouse’s architecture.

“The building has been an iconic landmark on the Queens waterfront for decades, and our resto- ration plan for the bathhouse will transform it into a modern beachfront hub complete with a full range of amenities for the public,” CBSK Principal Scott Shnay said in a statement. ■