Coney Island Prep has locked in a 39-year leasehold condominium for a brand-new 45,190-square-foot high school at 773 Neptune Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn, a facility the charter network says will let it grow high school enrollment past 500 students. The building, expected to open in summer 2027, will replace the network's current high school home at 294 Avenue T in Gravesend, moving the program back into the neighborhood where the network first opened its doors.
The deal was reported by the New York Real Estate Journal, which detailed how Open Impact Real Estate represented Coney Island Preparatory Public Charter School in securing the leasehold, while landlord 773 Neptune Avenue QOZ LLC, owned by Elie Fouerti, represented itself in-house. Open Impact's brokerage team, led by senior vice president Alexander Smith and Stephen Powers, worked to line up a facility that would be delivered as a turnkey educational building constructed ground-up by Rybak Development. Smith said the team sought a long-term, affordable solution that reflects the school's mission and strengthens its presence in Coney Island.
According to the same report, the new building will be occupied exclusively by Coney Island Prep and will include a double-height gymnasium, a commercial kitchen, science labs and other specialty instructional spaces, plus rooftop and backyard play areas. The commercial kitchen is designed to prepare fresh meals daily for more than 1,300 students across the network's four campuses. Smith said the project gives Coney Island Prep the room and resources to keep pace with its students' ambitions.
From a Community Center to a Custom-Built Campus
Coney Island Prep's roots trace back to 2009, when founding executive director Jacob Mnookin opened the school in a neighborhood community center, serving 90 fifth-grade students, according to Coney Island Prep. The network's high school program launched in 2013 inside a building at 294 Avenue T in Gravesend. The move will bring the high school into Coney Island itself.
The charter network now operates four campuses across South Brooklyn, including elementary, middle and high school programs, according to Schola. Coney Island Prep currently serves more than 1,300 students across those four campuses, per the New York Real Estate Journal's report, and draws families from 13 zip codes across Brooklyn. The high school is part of the network's four-campus system, which also notes that 75 percent of the network's students are first-generation college students.
Financing the Move Through a Tax-Exempt Structure
Coney Island Prep Builders, Inc., the network's supporting non-profit entity, is associated with the project, as is 773 Neptune Avenue QOZ LLC. The project includes a four-story development at the site.
Structuring the deal as a 39-year leasehold condominium may offer a specific financial advantage. Under New York's Real Property Tax Law, non-profit educational organizations can potentially secure a full real estate tax exemption through leasehold condominiums when multiple conditions are satisfied, including a lease of at least 30 years and exclusive non-residential educational use, according to a September 2025 analysis from Holland & Knight. The 39-year term meets the stated duration threshold, but the unit owner must pay taxes assessed on the leasehold condominium unit; the lease term alone does not establish that the school will avoid property-tax costs over the life of the lease.
A Neighborhood Reshaped by Rybak's Construction Push
The high school project sits within a much larger construction footprint that Rybak Development has built along Neptune Avenue in recent years. Commercial Observer reported that Rybak, along with co-developer Cammeby's International, secured construction financing for a nearby multi-building project at 532 Neptune Avenue that includes roughly 499 rental units. Hoodline has previously reported on 700 planned units tied to Rybak's broader residential push along Neptune and Surf avenues, and more recently covered a nearby parking lot sale that nearly doubled in value over two years, underscoring how quickly commercial property values are rising across the neighborhood.
Initial city permit applications filed for the 773 Neptune Avenue site in September 2022 placed the lot between Shell Road and West 6th Street, one block from the F train at the Neptune Avenue subway station, according to New York YIMBY. That transit access could matter for a school district drawing students from across 13 Brooklyn zip codes. An education sector analysis published by 50CAN in April 2026 noted that Coney Island Prep was one of the few New York City charter schools to grow enrollment without adding new grades over a recent five-year stretch, even as citywide public school enrollment has broadly declined.
What the Expansion Means for Students
Karen Johnson said the new facilities are designed to meet scholars' current needs and grow with them, according to the New York Real Estate Journal's report. Coney Island Prep High School seniors have earned college acceptances, and the network's alumni persist and graduate from college at a rate five times the national average, per the same report. The high school also has graduates attending four-year colleges.
Whether construction stays on pace for the summer 2027 opening remains to be seen. For now, the network is planning around a facility built exclusively for its use, one meant to carry Coney Island Prep's high school enrollment past 500 students in a neighborhood where new construction, from apartment towers to school buildings, continues to reshape Neptune Avenue.
