The most striking feature of Coney Island’s newest attraction—a 471,000-sq-ft, 463-unit residential complex set to open one block from the Brooklyn beach in 2024—won’t be visible to visitors, residents or aficionados of hot-dog-eating contests. That’s because most of what will soon be New York City’s largest geothermal heating and cooling system at the 1515 Surf Ave. residential complex is underground.
Geothermal technology was not in the original plans for LCOR, a Berwyn, Pa., multifamily developer, when it acquired a 1.5-acre parking lot through a 99-year ground lease in 2019. But it became a viable option as the developer sought ways to make the two-tower complex sustainable for the long haul, says Anthony Tortora, senior vice president of the firm, which is majority-owned by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.