Is Stapleton slowly moving toward upscale cool?

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Ever so incrementally, the architectural and commercial fabric of Stapleton is morphing to upscale hip.

One of the first manifestations was theclassy makeover of 103 Water St. in 2011, with the opening of Oznico, the name-brand fashion store steps away from

Staten Island University Hospital's storefront methadone clinic. (Renovated 103 Water was the long-time location of a Woolworth five-and-dime store, when Stapleton was a thriving center for shopping in the 1940s and '50s, as some long-time Islanders may recall.)

Directly across Tappen Park, a stunning addition to the historic Stapleton public library -- which opened its doors to neighborhood residents in 1907 -- lends a touch of distinctive modern class to Wright Street.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, an ambitiously bold addition is the Staten Island Artists Building, a retrofitted factory at 73 Wave St.

With a debut in 2013, the building offers rental studio space to artists, photographers, and others engaged in creative endeavors.

And historic mixed-use commercial/residential buildings on Bay Street have been renovated with colorful facades.

Closer to Stapleton's waterfront is popular 5050 Skatepark, opened in 2012 as the realized dream of Islanders Ed Pollio and Angelica Popolano.

And not to be overlooked is Dinora's Market at 198 Canal St., the family-owned business thriving in the neighborhood since the 1980s.

This sleek, European-style food emporium attracts customers from all over the Island in search of imported food from the Balkans, with offerings from fresh feta and other cheeses to spicy sausages hand-made at the butcher counter.

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Is Stapleton slowly moving toward upscale cool?