Showing posts with label East Village development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Village development. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2013

Rainbow will be the latest business to exit East 14th Street

Last Friday, we pointed out the ongoing exodus on East 14th Street ahead of some unspecified new development that promises to build on a good part of this stretch of single-story buildings... Now, as these photos by ace photographer East Village Hawkeye show, Rainbow, the junior retailer, is the next business to close...



An employee told EVG regular Gojira that April 20 is the store's last day ...



As we previously reported, eight parcels consisting of 222 Avenue A and 504 - 530 E. 14th St. (excluding No. 520) were leased for a 99-year period by the respective owner of East Village 14 LLC.

After Rainbow goes, the remaining businesses will be Rite Aid, the laundromat, which multiple readers have said will move to Ray's old space at East Side 99-cent store toward Avenue B, and the dearly beloved Blarney Cove. But for how much longer?

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street exodus continues

Conspiracies: What next for 14th Street and Avenue A?

Those ongoing rumors about the future of East 14th Street between Avenue A and B

Petland is moving away from East 14th Street, fueling more new development rumors

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

Bargain Express has closed on East 14th Street

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

Thursday, November 15, 2012

11th Street A-B-C Block Association opposing incoming 7-Eleven; eyeing future developments

[From August]

The following is a synopsis of last night's 11th Street A-B-C Block Association meeting...

By Matt Amoroso

At Father’s Heart Ministries church last night, approximately 50 attendees comprised largely of 11th Street residents discussed strategies and action items regarding the incoming 7-Eleven on the corner of Ave. A and 11th St., the pending luxury development in the Mary Help of Christians lot as well as the proposed construction of a social services building at 535 E. 11th St.

While the discussion centered on East 11th Street and parts of Avenue A, the fact was not lost on the room that these development concerns are symptomatic not only of the greater East Village neighborhood but also the rest of Manhattan.

Despite the presence of several issues on the docket, the incoming 7-Eleven stood out as the hot-button topic of the evening. The consensus in the room largely acknowledged: the 11th St. Block Association opposes the 7-Eleven, and there is not much the members of the 11th St. Block Association can do to stop this particular location from opening.

In a majority decision, the Block Association voted to oppose outright the opening of this 7-Eleven, and in the failure of that attempt, to push for a list of agreed upon concessions from the local 7-Eleven owner or the landlord. Those concessions included:

• Reduced evening/late night hours
• Reduction in lights and signature signage
• Noise control
• Entrance on Ave. A only
• Enforcement of loitering laws
• Possible security guard
• Limits to the sale of alcohol
• Keeping the door closed at all times

In addition to “Is this really happening?”, the pressing question for most attendees was “What can we do about it?” Aside from a general boycott, the attendees suggested numerous courses of action to accomplish the above goals. The most feasible and effective suggestions centered upon utilizing legislative channels through elected or soon-to-be-elected officials to gain notoriety for the grievances of the block and East Village overall.

Other ideas included: social media engagement and petitioning, flyering, picketing, NY media engagement, and research into the existence of any public funding going into construction.

Despite the clear opposition to the incoming 7-Eleven, several residents noted that this franchise would solve the often-voiced problems associated with the (now-closed) bars on the street, including Bar on A and Angels and Kings. In addition, if this 7-Eleven were not to open, then another bar would surely fill the void (if not out of spite from the landlord).

No love was lost in the room for the much-maligned real-estate developer Ben Shaoul, who owns the building housing the future 7-Eleven as well as the Mary Help of Christians lot.

It remained reluctantly clear to the attendees that there is not much that can legally stop a private owner from developing businesses or luxury condos on his property. One can only hope for community engagement, elected official support, and a little bit of luck to turn the tide in the East Village and Manhattan as a whole.

As community leader Rob Hollander reminded everyone: “The law couldn’t stop Robert Moses, but Jane Jacobs did.”

Author’s note: There were many great ideas and viewpoints expressed during the meeting that couldn’t make it into the above story due to time and space. I encourage people to add anything that was left out in the comments section!

Matt Amoroso is the Co-Editor of The Stark Online.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Here are 17 current East Village construction projects, bringing in 534 new residential units

Does it seem as if there's a lot of new construction going on in the East Village these days?

To me, there's more going on now than any other time in the five years that I've done this site.

So here are all the current projects in one post.

But a few things first. I didn't include commercial ventures such as the Hyatt Union Square ... or other non-commercial jobs such as St. Brigid's (but I did include 51 Astor Place — mostly because of its size and scope and neighborhood-changing potential).

I also didn't include rumored construction sites, such as Mary Help of Christians, which likely faces the wrecking ball one day... or partial building rehabs...or jobs that haven't started in earnest just yet, such as 33 Second Ave. and 227 E. Seventh St.

Anyway.

219 E. 13th St. (aka, The Mystery Lot)
What: 8 stories, 82 units of residential. Plus retail on the East 14th Street side.


..and the plywood went up on the East 14th Street this week...


74-84 Third Ave. at East 12th Street
What: 9 stories, 94 units of residential. Plus retail.


51 Astor Place (aka The Death Star)
What: 12 stories, all commercial; some educational use.

[Bobby Williams]

27 E. Seventh St.
What: Interior demolition and gut rehab of former rectory for the pastor and priests of the Order of Saint Basil the Great; later the illegal hotel the Village Inn. Conversion to residential. Per the DOB, there will be 11 units of residential.

[From April]

21 E. First St. (aka the former Mars Bar) at Second Avenue
What: 12 stories, 65 units of residential. Plus retail.


154 Second Ave.
What: Conversion of former funeral home into residential; plus addition of 3 new floors. 12 units of residential (still confirming final number). Plus retail.

[Terry Howell]

331. E. Sixth St. (aka Chez Schwimm)
What: Demolition of formerly historic townhouse; new 6-floor single-family mansion for David Schwimmer


427 E. 12th St.
What: 6 story, 11 units.


130 E. Seventh St. at Avenue A
What: Per the DOB: "Convert portion of existing commercial building to general residential use on floors 4 thru 7 ... reconstruct portion of existing penthouse."


315 E. 10th St.
What: Conversion from nonprofit use to residential. 9 units of residential. Plus one additional floor for penthouse apartment.

[Bobby Williams]

526 E. Fifth St.
What: Conversion of three-story multiple-dwelling building to a single-family residence


185 Avenue B at East 12th Street
What: 7 stories, 40 units of residential. Plus community facility and church.

[Demolition of the former theater via Kimberly Fritschy on Facebook]

542 East Fifth St. at Avenue B
What: Conversion of former Cabrini Nursing Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation into residential apartments (90 units). Plus retail.


710 E. Ninth St. (aka the Henry Street Settlement Day Care #3 building)
What: Conversion of former school into community facility plus 46 units of housing to serve homeless young adults and young adults aging out of the foster care system

[Bobby Williams]

316-318 E. Third St.
What: Demolition of formerly historic townhouse; construction of 7 stories, 33 units of residential


326-328 E. Fourth St.
What: Conversion of former two-building artist collective; addition of two floors and 18 units of residential.


...and the doorway...

[EVG reader Steven]

101 Avenue D
What: A community facility, the HQ for the Lower Eastside Girls Club, retail space and 78 affordable and market-rate rental units of residential.



If my math is any good (not really), then this makes 17 construction projects ... with an estimated addition of 534 residential units...(and various retail space).

Any construction projects/developments that I missed?

Monday, July 16, 2012

A $4 million 'price break' for Avenue D development site

[Google Street View]

Back on May 21, The Real Deal reported that the above stretch of retail that includes a Rite Aid on Avenue D between Seventh Street and Sixth Street was on the market for $22.5 million.

The site is earmarked for a residential development that "could potentially rise 12 stories" — particularly with "the creation or preservation of affordable housing."

Well, all that will cost someone a little less... the price has been reduced by $4 million to $18.5 million...

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

East Third Street lot in contract; city OKs Karl Fischer-designed apartment building

[File photo]

Back in January, we noted that the lot at 321 E. Third St., just west of Avenue D, was on the market for $6 million. According to Streeteasy, the 5,770 square-foot lot is in contract. Stay tuned for details on what will be coming here.

Meanwhile, across the street, the Karl Fischer-designed, 33-unit apartment building will be shooting up soon enough where 316-318 E. Third St. used to be... workers finished demolishing the circa-1835 house back in March.

The lot is empty now, though not for long.


The city OK'd the plans for the new building on May 11.

Previously on EV Grieve:


Another parcel of East Village land ready for development

33-unit, Karl Fischer-designed building rising at former home of Community Board 3 member

Landmarks Preservation Commission rejects hearing for 316 E. Third St., paving way for 7-floor condo

Lovely townhouse with bucolic gardens on East Third Street ready for "creative expansion"

Thursday, January 19, 2012

[Updated] This feature should get a 'Rise' out of you


We interrupt our regular programming to bring you highlights from today's cover story in the Post's Home section titled "Rise in the East" (heh)


... and they have details on some of these stalled developments, empty parcels and mystery lots that we've been watching though the years ...

Should we start with the bad news or the worse news?

Basically, there's a lot of building here on the horizon. Like!

• The Mystery Lot on 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
This space will become an 82-unit, eight-story development, which should break ground this summer for a late 2013 opening. "Prices are still to be determined for the project’s studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units," according to the Post.

[Pause]


The article also mentions the developments coming to 74-84 Third Ave. (part of which once belonged to Nevada Smith's) and 316-318 E. Third St., which is awaiting demolition to become an eight story, 33-unit apartment building. Developer David Amirian told the Post that he will offer only studios and one bedroom units.

"The market right now is to build rental. You want to build affordable housing for young people," he said.

Here are photos of the two from the Post.


Hmm, 74-84 Third Ave. looks particularly... ENORMOUS. (I will miss the sun while walking by here.)

A few other passages:

• "[The East Village is] young and up-and-coming, and there are a lot of young professionals who live there and a lot of students and a lot of grad students," Amirian says. "We are definitely looking for other parcels in the neighborhood."

Up-and-coming? Don't you think those days have up and came? Or something.

• Of course, some of the East Village’s rental buildings could eventually go condo. The idea of $2,000-per-square-foot penthouses has to have developers considering the possibility.

Of course!

More on some of the other news items here later when I regain consciousness.

As the Observer put it in their coverage of the Post feature:

In short, the former bastions of East Village grit are giving way to rental buildings where parents will pay for their NYU student to live comfortably and drink heavily.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Another parcel of East Village land ready for development


There's no stopping the rampant development here... Now, 321 E. Third St., just west of Avenue D, just hit the market. The lot is $6 million. Bring your own condo.

Here are the details via the Streeteasy listing:

For Sale or Joint Venture — Development Opportunity
Joint Venture — Develop A Multi-Family Building
23,080 Max Usable Floor Area

5,770 Sq Ft Lot
Lot Size 60’ x 96.17’
Zoned R8-b
FAR 4
Only $259x Foot

Phase Once Complete
(Soil Test & Survey)

Neighbors include:
Eickholt Gallery, Positively 3rd Street, Clinton St Baking Co, Dessert Truck

And here's what the lot looks like in the summer... A few trees will need to be removed ...


Looks as if people used the space as a community garden of sorts. There are picnic tables on the property.


Regardless, this should be a nice area of development hell in the future. A Karl Fischer-designed, 33-unit apartment building is coming directly across the street.


And, maybe one day on the corner of Houston and Avenue D — this.



So what becomes of the little neighborhood shops right here? The ones that sell mops and gently used coats and copies of The Fantasticks' book? These businesses are the direct neighbors...


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

12 things to watch for in the East Village during 2012

• 35 Cooper Square
We're still waiting for the Arun Bhatia Development Corporation, who specialize in dorms and luxury condos, to make public their plans for the parcel of land on Cooper Square at Sixth Street. But they were seemingly in a hurry to demolish the historic 35 Cooper Square last year.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

• Will East 10th Street be spared from future development?
As we first reported, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has expedited a hearing on the East 10th Street Historic District... thanks to Ben Shaoul looking to add another floor during the conversion of 315 E. 10th St. from nonprofit to residential use. The hearing is set for Jan. 17.


• A lot of posts about Karl Fischer.
Dubbed "NY's most loathed architect" by the Post, Fischer currently has three projects working in the East Village ... 427 E. 12th Street ... 316-318 E. Third St. ... and 532 E. Fifth St. ...

[532 E. Fifth St.]

• A new look for the corner of Third Avenue and 12th Street.


• The rise of 11-17 Second Avenue.
The current address is a beam and brick away from existence. In 2012, we'll see the rise, then, of the 12-story apartment building that's taking over this space...

[Saturday at 11-17 Second Ave. by Bobby Williams]

November...


• The demolition continues at 51 Astor Place, where the Fumihiko Maki-designed 430,000-square-foot Death Star office building will live ...

[Bobby Williams]

• More fast food and chain stores?
Last year, we saw the arrival of a Subway on Avenue B, an IHOP on East 14th Street, a 7-Eleven on the Bowery and the start of a Starbucks on First Avenue at Third Street. Given what rents are these days, it only seems natural that more chains will invade. Which will lead to...

• The continued death of the mom-and-pop shop.
In the last week, we've seen two small restaurants close up — Itzocan Café and Polonia. Just not foody enough for the the foodies? But there will be plenty of that...

• More fodder for foodies.
Expect to see even more name restaurateur types pan for the East Village Gold Rush. Coming soon! Michael White opening a pizza place on Second Avenue at 10th Street ... the people behind the Breslin, John Dory and Spotted Pig taking over at Olivia on Houston and Allen ... wd~50 pastry chef Alex Stupak opening Empellon, "a fine-dining Mexican restaurant," at the former Counter on First Avenue ...

• More pedestrian usage of "Occupy" even after it went from clever to cliche about, oh, four months ago...


...and on the more positive side...

• Construction continues at the new home of the Lower Eastside Girls Club on Avenue D ...

[Bobby Williams]

• Renovations continue at St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street...

[@dens]

There are more than 12, actually, but this is a good start...

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

5 developments to watch (and worry about!) this summer

As you probably know, today is the first day of summer... and a good time to look ahead at five East Village developments that we're keeping tabs on...

1) 9-11 Second Avenue.
This parcel that includes the Mars Bar will be demolished sometime in August to make way for a 12-story high-rise.

[Curbed]

2) 51 Astor Place

Prep work for the demolition of the former Cooper Union engineering building starts on July 1. Expect to see an un-neighborhoody-looking black glass-black granite office building here in 17 months or so.


3) 347 Bowery

Back in January, Eastern Consolidated announced that Paris-based Louzon Group bought 347-349 Bowery. The group has plans to construct a 72-room boutique hotel at the site with a restaurant "operated by one of the most famous Parisian brands."

Meanwhile, Louzon officials haven't announced any kind of timeline for the new hotel. We expect to find demolition permits at the DOB one of these days for the Salvation Army's East Village Residence, which closed here at East Third Street in August 2008.



4) 35 Cooper Square

This one is a mystery. The people at the Arun Bhatia Development Corporation, who specialize in dorms and luxury condos, haven't made public their plans for the parcel of land on Cooper Square at Sixth Street. But they were seemingly in a hurry to demolish the historic 35 Cooper Square.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

5) 500 E. 14th St.

We've been talking about this space where Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-A-Place were lost to a fire. There's only speculation now about the future of this corner. The only activity at the DOB is for the new boardwalk-quality sidewalk shed.

[EVG reader Tom]

Plus:

75 First Avenue. A modified (and shorter) version of this rendering is expected here at Fifth Street.


The BMW Guggenheim Lab on East First Street/Houston