Thursday, May 2, 2013

The future of Avenue A is likely going to look something like this

Last Thursday, reps for developer Douglas Steiner filed permits to demolish the now-vacant parcel of Mary Help of Christians that includes the church, school and rectory, as we first reported.

Plans call for some type of residential-retail complex. Now a retail listing at Ripco Real Estate provides a few clues as to what is possibly in store for this parcel of Avenue A between East 11th Street and East 12th Street:



Per the listing:

Size
11,356 sf - Ground Floor
11,508 sf - Basement Possible
*Divisions possible

Asking Rent
Upon Request

Possession
4Q 2014

Currently
New Construction

Frontage
150’ on Avenue A
70’ on 11th Street

Notes & Highlights:
• New construction at the base of 140 unit market luxury rental building
• Steps from Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village with 30,000 residents
• Close proximity to Tompkins Square Park
• Located in the heart of the East Village and Alphabet City

In addition, the Ripco site has a listing for 98 Avenue A, the former theater-turned-grocery that was most recently East Village Farm between East Seventh Street and East Sixth. Currently home to the last skid row in the East Village.


[Photo from Monday by Bobby Williams]

To date, plans (that are still waiting for approval) on file with the DOB show a modest renovation of the existing space. The marketing materials at Ripco shows something far different.



Here is the rest of the listing:

Size
9,767 sf - Ground Floor
5,850 sf - Basement
*Divisions Accepted

Asking Rent
Upon Request

Currently
Vacant (New Residential Development)

Frontage
127'5" on Avenue A

Notes & Highlights:
• Landlord will deliver vanilla box space and new storefront(s)
• New residential building will be above the retail (40 units)
• Unique large piece of retail space available in the East Village
• Steps from Tompkins Square Park
• Surrounded by a mix of local and national retailers and restaurants
• Dense residential neighborhood with 11,471 households in 1/4 mile

Nothing is on file yet with the DOB to indicate either a demolition or new building for 98 Avenue A. Property records show that Suh, Yon, Pak Associates, Inc. is still the owner.

[March 2012 via Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farm is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farm on Avenue A

36 comments:

Uncle Waltie said...

Looks a lot like Bowery and 4th Street.

Anonymous said...

certainly much worse than a 7 - 11.

glamma said...

oy.
horrible to even have to say it, but at least neither will be dorms... the only thing worse that big rich brats are little rich brats running around, wasted on trust funds...

Anonymous said...

Pretty sure you can count on a 7-11 (or equivalent) being included in this project.

Anonymous said...

jesus, that's fucking hideous. what part of iowa is that in?

Anonymous said...

I'd have zero complaints about the aesthetics if this was housing that was affordable and available to current residents of the neighborhood.

patkenrog said...

does current zoning allow a building this tall at 98 Ave. A site, or would owners need some sort of variance/air rights? anybody know?

Anonymous said...

The ways around hight limit zoning laws are so numerous it's ridiculous.

tyjk said...

i think i'm depressed

Sammy said...

Welcome to Toronto!

g whiz said...

Notice the renderings don't show the exact height?

Anonymous said...

"Totally awesome, bro! I heard the East Village is totally rad. It's like Williamsburg West, right? Totally need to get a pad here. But, like, I don't want to live in some 100 year old shithole surrounded by poor people! So, this is just what I need! And a 7-11 across the street! Daaayum, bro! A dorm around the corner for some ladies! Can't wait for SantaCon 2015 on Avenue A! Oh, who's Joe Strummer?"

~evilsugar25 said...

oh, my deli. can't wait to have hundreds more people on avenue a, in the park, trying to buy food.... i'm going to cry.

James C. Taylor said...

I still can't believe they're knocking that church down.

Anonymous said...

Sad. Just sad.

A nearly 100 year old church is being demolished for that.

editrrix said...

Everything is for money. Everything. Almost no thought is given to considering the people WHO ALREADY LIVE HERE and have lived here for years. More and more weekends spent inside (to avoid the tourists and drunkards and texters—weekends are the worst—"I'm on the corner of x and x. Where are you?" "Meet me here." "Where is X again, let me google it." The other day some idiot asked me where Momofuku is...he was standing directly in front of it, but looking it up on his "smart" phone. People aren't even enjoying the city in real time anymore, using their own human senses! We're finally talking moving in a serious way...I'm not paying all this rent so I can live next to 7-11. Let the idiots have their corporate poison.

Warsabi said...

I am saddened to have come to conclusion that this is all inevitable. I have lost faith in people. It seems that nobody likes the turn the neighborhood is taking, but aren't willing to step up and do something...anything! Case in point: When a group like No7Eleven starts up, they are met with a little derision and a lot of what is worse; apathy. Where is everybody? The real test of a neighborhood isn't people's ability to bask in its golden past, but how it meets its future.

Anonymous said...

I've lived in the East Village for 20 years now. Moved here in the spring of 1993. For 16 of those years I've lived on Ave. A & 12th. There have been alot of changes in the last 5-10 years but the changes that are happening now are just absolutely disgraceful. There's no other way to put it. The real NYC culture, the one that existed for decades and decades is pretty much destroyed. It's just unbelievable.

1:15 pm said...

This is where those Citibikes and docking stations belong.

rob said...

4 patkenrog -- The 2008 rezoning allows 80 feet on the avenues (although the average height of 1st Ave and A is under 5 stories if you discount Shegloff Towers and Village View). That's why this new development is 7 stories. Bad as it is, under the old zoning it could have been even worse.

Anonymous said...

Clik here to vote for a roller derby arena

Mark Hand The Catchman said...

The "culture" of ANY neighborhood changes with almost every generation...
I grew up in this neighborhood, left for a few years & came back.. and money has to do alot with the change.
The only complaint with this construction is that its pretty bland, and its just a new skin over the old structure... better than somebody's idea of art like 41 Cooper Sq.

Anonymous said...

"Hey Bros! Chillax! We're all going to totally get wasted together when this is built! I'll expense it! Fuckin A, why are you hating? What is a Johnny Thunders? They should totally put a beer garden and shake shack in that dumpy old park. What's it called? Thompson square? Tompkins square? Who cares. Pub crawl on Avenue A brosefs!"

Anonymous said...

Well, hello Midtown! Reminds me of what I heard a realtor say recently about Williamsburg: "It's nice over there now. There are Chipotles."

Anonymous said...

Why does everyone hate when neighborhoods get improved...the NIMBY people commenting on here keep talking about missing the old EV...guess what, the old EV was full of drug addicts and crime. The neighborhood is much safer and pleasant to be in. Who wanted to go into Tompkins Square Park when they thought they would get mugged or beaten up. Stop complaining about gentrification when you love the fact that you can now walk down the street safely and enjoy the lifestyle it has brought to the neighborhood. I grew up in the area and could not be happier that it is continuing to improve. Yeah, the design could be better but I would rather have that than the empty space that it is today. When will people realize that having something there in general is better than dilapidated nothing. and ending rant now.

Anonymous said...

The odd thing is when the neighborhood was full of drugs and crime I was able to get a peaceful night's sleep. Now I can't ever sleep through the night without being woken up several times--even during the week--by the woo-hooers. I am tired of being exhausted.

Anonymous said...

I'm relatively new to the neighborhood but I like the charm that the EV has. My wife and I loved walking around the flea market in the parking lot... just made the neighborhood so friendly. People were nice, the hot dog stand was pretty good. I know it's now at the church but something about it just being in the open was nice.

I guess gentrification to a certain extent is good but it's all about balance. Things seem good now but too many boxy buildings and it starts looking like LIC.

4:33pm said...

"neighborhoods get improved"

... improved for the riches, trustfunders, and WOOOO-ers, that is.

Anonymous said...

Fuck this. I'm moving to LA.

Anonymous said...

@Anon 3:46 - so you grew up in the neighborhood. Do you still live in the neighborhood? Lot's of folks who grew up in the neighborhood are now trying to cash in on what has happened to the neighborhood by opening bars and restaurants that cater to the new demographic. I hope you are not one of them. Granted the neighborhood may be safer and the park prettier then it was (I happen to love the old bandshell). Most of the people who lived through those rough times have been driven out of their homes by the types of developers who will be doing the two projects proposed for Avenue A. So before you jump for joy over these developments, think about all the folks who have been sacrificed at the "alter of progress". Hopefully none of your family members or friends are amongst them.

Sammy said...

@anon 3:46: The point you are missing is that the vast majority of people who grew up in the hood back in the day were poor. Poor families cannot afford to live in the current neighborhood. The real choice would be whether you grew up in the old Loisaida/Alphabet City/East Village or grew up in the South Bronx/Red Hook/East New York of the same era. As rough as it might have seemed at the time comparatively you had it great.

Anonymous said...

If your solution to this is to move to LA please don't...we don't need any more complainers.

Peter Parker said...

Mayor Bloomberg's administration has been a godsend for people who have wanted to live in New York but didn't want the dirt and crime and menace. It's a safer, cleaner city, and no matter where you come from in the US, you know you'll have the comforts of home near you. 7-11's, Chipotle's, Starbuckses, Johnny Rocket's, all the businesses that say AMERICA in the 21st century, are here now. When Wal-Mart comes to Manhattan it will be complete. No more having to worry about strange food from strange places or brands you've never heard of that don't appear in People or Vogue or popular websites. Some people complain that New York is only for the rich now but Mayor Bloomberg is rich and he has turned things around and kept New York safe and zoned for lots more housing and tourists and newcomers love the City. It's just like it appeared on TV in Friends and Caroline in the City and Felicity. Christine Quinn will continue his work so voters do have a choice.

jabberwalkn said...

Tragic about the loss of that church! Such buildings ought to be landmarked, so even if the Catholic Church sells off all their historic properties, built painstakingly by artisans/craftsmen of a bygone era, at least the majestic structures could survive. MHoC could be repurposed as an event space, community space, gym, etc. Even condos or a shopping mall in the current historic buildings would be better than knocking it down!

I would not be interested in a mere 'preserved'facade, as in the insult that stands in front of that horrible dorm on East 12th Street, a mocking reminder where St. Ann's Church once stood.

Rather, it would be great if there could be a creative re-use of the MHoC building(s) along the lines of St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, where several arts groups, and even a congregation share the space. The Angel Orensanz Center, housed in a former Synagogue on Norfolk Street, is another example of a beautifully preserved space. Heck, even the joke of a mall that calls itself Limelight Marketplace, residing in a deconsecrated Episcopal church building, suggests a possible re-use of the existing MHoC properties.

john penley said...

Shut Up Hooker is a Real Estate Developer's high priced call girl. She goes for the big bucks and thinks the poor should STFU and move to Jersey or anywhere but the East Village. Let's hope that as Shut Up Hooker gets old she can't attract the rich developers anymore and they tell her to move out too !!!! How much ya wanna bet that SUH lives in a rent controlled apartment.

everettsville said...

Peter Parker, your satire is so dead-on it's frightening. Your posts as "Owen Gereth" over at vanishingnewyork have lately caused some stir and confusion as to whether you're a satirist or a soul-dead zombie corporatist. I going with satirist...if only so that I can sleep at night.