By Anne Levin 

A sleepy swath of the Staten Island waterfront is being targeted to become a major tourist attraction. If planners, investors, and local officials have their way, a 630-foot, state-of-the-art Ferris wheel will soon be looming above the harbor in St. George, luring tourists and locals looking for a new kind of visitor experience.

he New York Wheel was inspired by the wildly successful London Eye Ferris wheel in the British capital. It is part of the new generation of Ferris wheels, which are designed to be destinations in themselves rather than part of another attraction.

The $500 million-plus project has been controversial of late, with lawsuits between investors and the inevitable delays and cost overruns that seem to plague projects of this scope. But Rich Marin, the investment banker who is The Wheel’s CEO, is decidedly bullish on the attraction. With construction on the foundation underway since last summer, most of the financing in place, and projections of 3.5 million visitors to the site a year, he is moving full speed ahead.

“I call this an interaction between two concepts,” Marin said in a telephone interview. “One is the tremendous success of the London Eye. The second is the extreme emphasis, during the Bloomberg years, on tourism. New York is now the number one urban tourist destination. You add to that the emphasis they have put on the waterfront, and it all comes together.”

Some statistics: The New York Wheel will be equipped with $7 million of LED lighting. Forty people will be able to fit into each of the 36 capsules, for a 38-minute ride intended to give a bird’s eye view of the New York skyline. A five-acre green roof on the parking garage at the site is a key component, offering al fresco dining, a playground, and settings for concerts, weddings, and large-scale events. Some 600 permanent jobs are expected to be created; following the 350 union construction jobs during the building phase.

Governor’s Island was originally considered for the site of the project. “It was on the list,” said Marin. “But the city didn’t want to put it there. This is something that is mass transit driven, and having one of the largest and free transit hubs in New York right at our doorstep is very valuable,” he added, referring to the Staten Island Ferry. “It would have cost so much more to build it up. Putting it here worked out as a very good solution.”

Four elements make up the site: the wheel, the garage, the terminal, and the green roof. Not surprisingly, the wheel has been at the center of much of the construction. “Putting in a foundation for something this big is no trivial matter,” Marin said. “This weighs 19 million pounds, and the erection and lateral loads are extremely high. That foundation is a very big thing. It should be ready for the wheel to start being put in this summer.”

While the wheel is the focal point, it is only one aspect of the visitor experience Marin has in mind. “We want people to come back when Aunt Bessie comes to town,” he said. “Word of mouth is important, and return impetus is very valuable. So the experience begins with the impression people have, and the commercial buzz. It starts online, when they book. Then, the physical experience starts when they arrive either by the [Staten Island] ferry or by private ferry service. There are 12 million visitors in the harbor on boats every year. The more we can get to disembark at our private ferry dock, the better. But most will arrive by Staten Island Ferry.”

During the ferry ride to the site, visitors will meet ambassadors—“our version of Walmart greeters,” Marin said—to help move them along. The wheel has sister developments, an outlet mall and a ball park. “We view our goals as very complementary,” Marin said. “There are bound to be those who don’t want to go up 630 feet in the air. The beauty of it is that we have all of these things – shopping, sports, fine dining, and Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, just up the hill. People can come for an entire day and experience these different things.”

Those who do choose to pay the approximately $35 fee to be transported toward the sky will have access to a pre-ride show. “It is technology based, and it shares all the aspects of the harbor,” Marin said, “including the history.” Once on board, visitors can listen to information they will have already downloaded onto their smartphones.

Marin is enthusiastic about the green roof that tops the parking garage. “It has two to four feet of soil, so it’s really green, and it’s in a park-like setting,” he said. “It’s geared to handling 5,000 people and it’s 70 feet above the water. There will be a playground, and roving entertainers.”

Safety is the first priority of the project. “The city and city agencies that watch over us are very diligent,” Mr. Marin said. “We’ve got the best security in the world working on this. There is nothing more important than that.”

As of mid-February, Marin said, the project had about two thirds of the financing in the bank. One boost has come from an immigration-based program called EB-5, which provides visas for people who pay $500,000. “We have 344 Chinese families that will receive their green cards because of our project,” he said.

The Staten Island Ferry draws some 1.8 million tourists each year, most of whom take the ride to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty but don’t disembark at Staten Island. Marin looks forward to attracting those same tourists, and in the process giving a proverbial shot in the arm to the borough just six miles across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

“I now live on Staten Island,” he said. “I’ve certainly become a cheerleader for the redevelopment of the north shore. I’m all in, as they say.”

Opening day will be sometime in 2017. The fact that Marin isn’t sure exactly when doesn’t concern him. “This is the biggest Ferris wheel ever built. You have to remember that,” he said. “No one will ever offend me if they say, ‘You didn’t open it on time.’ We’ve pushed the limits of what physics and metallurgy can do, and it’s better to be careful.”