Friday, March 11, 2011

Someone finally buys the famed Cedar Tavern space



Well, here's some news that may (or may not!) cause our blogging friend Alex at Flaming Pablum to punch a few walls.

The Real Deal's Amy Tennery reports that the 2,295-square-foot retail condo unit and former home of the Cedar Tavern (RIP, 2006) has sold for $1.5 million.

Per the article:

The unit, located on the bottom floor of 82 University Place, a seven-unit condominium on the corner of 11th Street, was sold by Michael Diliberto, the building's developer and former owner of Cedar Tavern, which counted Jackson Pollock and Jack Kerouac among its patrons during its roughly 40-year tenure.

The sale came under major duress from lender Flushing Savings Bank, according to Kevin Salmon, a partner at the firm who helped broker the deal. After almost five months on the market, the unit sold to property owner Ascot Properties for $1 million less than its original asking price.

And a sale doesn't mean a Cedar Tavern revival. According to the article, there are restrictions specifically blocking a bar or restaurant from opening here.

As Alex wrote last month: "The fact that it's still an ugly, empty shell of a yanwsomely utilitarian workspace in the wake of it replacing a beloved neighborhood institution is still an untrammeled insult."

Oh, and here's another Austin, Texas/SXSW connection for you. As Grub Street reported, the owner sold the Cedar Tavern's bar to some nightlife types in Austin.

4 comments:

Wilfrid said...

It's worth remembering that Pollock was long dead when this Cedar Tavern opened in 1964. The truly famed Cedar Tavern was further down the street.

blue glass said...

the original cedar was great.
that it survived so long at the new location was comforting. watching the fire from the bugers cooking in the kitchen, the skylight on the second floor, and the "relatively quiet" bar. oh well.
another piece of new york history gone.

esquared™ said...

"This was where Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and a host of other figures came together over glasses of 15-cent beer.

But the bar wasn’t just a bar, it was the center of a rising artists community which was made possible by a surfeit of empty lofts and cheap rent. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was a creative one.
"

http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2010/oct/01/downtown-cedar-tavern/

Bill L. said...

the one Pollack and the others frequented was on 8th Street