Sunset Park West, Brooklyn

Over the last few years, Sunset Park, which hugs New York Harbor between Greenwood Heights to the north and Bay Ridge to the south, and is home to a thriving Chinatown and to Latino communities, has been attracting buyers priced out of prime Brooklyn neighborhoods like Park Slope and Fort Greene. Most of the newcomers, brokers say, have gravitated toward the prewar co-ops and brownstone blocks around the hillside park in the northeastern quadrant, where coffee shops and cafes like Parkette Brooklyn and Parlay are popping up.

Now, redevelopment along the water’s edge is drawing interest toward the western fringe, an area that requires visitors coming from the subway to pass under the elevated Gowanus Expressway, which cuts through the neighborhood along Third Avenue. “There is so much office-related tenancy there and people want to be close to their work,” said Joshua Zegen, a founder of Madison Realty Capital, which purchased the Brooklyn Whale Building at 14 53rd Street last year and is turning the 400,000-square-foot industrial property into a technology, media and creative office hub. “That will drive residential momentum.”

A new green space, Bush Terminal Park, opened along the water between 44th and 51st Streets in 2014 with walking paths and baseball fields. Nearby, a partnership of owners led by Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo, Gordon & Company has invested more than $125 million toward a $1 billion plan to update Industry City, a 16-building waterfront industrial complex. So far, more than two million square feet of space have been leased to tenants ranging from a Design Within Reach warehouse to MakerBot, a start-up that makes 3-D printers.

The Brooklyn Nets opened a new training center there earlier this month. And the popular Brooklyn Flea & Smorgasburg moved in for the winter season. Nearby warehouses are attracting partygoers to music and art events.

Such attractions are “drawing a lot of people who were not aware of the neighborhood,” said Peter Bracichowicz, an associate broker at the Corcoran Group who specializes in the area. Until recently, he said, the western reaches, mostly low-slung warehouse buildings with a smattering of residences mixed in, were “really not focused on by most of the buyers.” But the waterfront activity, combined with the appealing prices in the more industrial blocks, has begun to change that.

Single- and two-family houses near the park are going for between $1.1 million and $1.3 million, he said. But in the low 40s between Bush Terminal Park and Industry City, he noted, “you could buy a two-family house for $700,000.” While not enough housing stock is available to establish a trend, he added, “pure demand” is driving interest. “I believe it’s a matter of time before more people discover this neighborhood.”

Last year, Brad Cooke and his wife, Margaret, who work in development and architecture, bought a two-family fixer-upper in Sunset Park West for about $700,000. “We realized it was an awesome under-the-radar neighborhood,” said Mr. Cooke, 30, noting the proximity to subway lines, the waterfront and the good food. “I think it’s in transition now.”