In case you missed this news from late Friday afternoon, Target has reportedly signed a lease for the retail space at 500 E. 14th St., Extell's new development between Avenue A and Avenue B. (The Real Deal had the scoop.)
First, a look at how the development is developing... Extell is putting up two 7-floor retail-residential buildings ... 500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A will have 106 residential units … while, further to the east, 524 E. 14th St. will house 44 residential units. (It's still unclear whether these will be rentals or condos.)
As previously noted, construction has been slow going here. The excavating started in June 2015.
Meanwhile, not sure what all this is about... the pipe has been attached to 220 Avenue A for several months... now there's also a protective rooftop shed ...
As for Target, this will be a small-format store, like the one opening in Tribeca. The marketing copy at RKF says the retail space at No. 500 totals 42,367 square feet, including 24,735 square feet on the street level with 17,632 square feet down below. The corner space has some 250 feet of frontage on East 14th Street and another 52 feet on Avenue A.
The Tribeca location is 45,000 square feet — a third of the size of a regular Target, according to Fortune.
[255 Greenwich St. rendering via Target/Fortune]
Here's more about what we can expect from the small-format stores, via Fortune...
Much like the stores it has opened near Fenway Park in Boston and downtown San Francisco, the Manhattan location will have an assortment of products aimed at catering to local needs. For instance, at the Fenway store, Target offers locally brewed Samuel Adams beer. While Target is still refining its plans, the TriBeCa store will proportionally offer more grab-and-go food options for harried office workers, more organic foods for those finicky TriBeCans, and a lot of apparel. Target will adjust its home goods selection to fit smaller New York City homes.
Seeking to capitalize on what is a major hassle for the many New Yorkers whose buildings don’t have doormen to receive packages, the TriBeCa Target will be equipped for in-store pick-up of orders placed on target.com, allowing it to offer customers the same assortment they’d get in a big-box location (except for grocery items).
This Target, rather development at No. 500, replaced a row of single-level buildings that housed, starting at Avenue A: Stuyvesant Grocery, Pete's-A-Place, a hair salon and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (before they were destroyed by fire on May 12, 2010), Rainbow, the Blarney Cove, a jewelry shop, a laundromat (which relocated closer to Avenue B) and Rite Aid.
It was also reported last week that Extell received a $140 million construction loan for the development.
And there is no timeline on when all this will be complete. The retail listing for No. 500 states possession will be available "Fourth Quarter 2016." As you can see on the progress to date, that isn't a realistic timeline any longer.
Updated 9:45 a.m.
For some perspective on the size of this incoming Target with the Kmart on Astor Place... let's go to this article from The New York Times, dated Oct. 1, 1996:
In a major push, Kmart is opening two huge new stores, one on 34th Street adjoining Pennsylvania Station, which opens tomorrow, the other on Broadway between Eighth and Ninth Streets, which will open next month. The company, swallowing the high operating costs, is going for volume. Each store will be expected to contribute more than $50 million in sales.
A kind of cultural exchange has begun as well.
"People don't realize how normal New Yorkers are," said Myles Johns, who was appointed general manager of the 34th Street store two months ago. "They're just like everybody else."
The new stores, each with more than 140,000 square feet, are not flagships in the usual sense -- Kmart has larger stores elsewhere in its 2,144-store chain -- nor are they even the first in New York City. Kmart opened stores in Queens and the Bronx in the early 90's, not to mention in the 60's on Staten Island.
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
The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street
[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development
New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units
Breaking (pretty much!): Target is coming to 14th Street and Avenue A (40 comments)
If anything else happens to the Wash N' Clean I seriously don't know what I'm gonna do. It's my last tether to normalcy in the immediate neighborhood (other than Associated) and if it goes, seriously, where the eff am I supposed to do my laundry?? I'm never going to be a drop-off person, I actually like my clothes and like taking care of them myself. But ya know, as long as people have somewhere to buy sriracha popcorn and shit! It's fine, I'll just get an old-timey washboard and washtub, I can probably find a cool artisanal Jonathan Adler one at Tar-jay!!
ReplyDeleteWait, the only thing mentioned as being offered at the Fenway store is beer? And the Tribeca store highlights their "grab-n-go" foods? Great. So basically we are going to get 44,000 square feet of crap to appeal to the bro/hos. Really wish a Trader Joe's had gone in instead, and wonder what happened to scotch that deal, which seemed, according to the last post about it, to be on the verge of coming to fruition.
ReplyDeleteThe Tribeca store is 45,000 square feet. I wonder how this compares to the KMart at Astor Place. Anyone know how many square feet that store is?
ReplyDeleteI notice this part in the Forbes article too, Gojira:
ReplyDeleteFor instance, at the Fenway store, Target offers locally brewed Samuel Adams beer.
I don't know if it has more to do with Forbes being a garbage publication (it is) and not realizing that Sam Adams is literally sold everywhere in America and is not some exclusively Boston thing that the locals there love OR whether Target's stated goal of appealing to locals in the areas where the stores are going up is a total farce.
Either way, I too wish it was going to be a Trader's Joe instead.
At 8:12 AM, Gojira writes:
ReplyDeleteReally wish a Trader Joe's had gone in instead, and wonder what happened to scotch that deal, which seemed, according to the last post about it, to be on the verge of coming to fruition.
It's possible the rent ended up being too high for them; there's a cap on the rent any one Trader Joe's branch can pay—which is why there are so few in Manhattan.
I'm very disappointed there isn't a Trader Joe's going in here, but look at the bright side: it's not a WholeMart™.
These compact Targets are basically bodegas. Will they sell K-2?
ReplyDeleteI would expect these to be rental apartments since Excell only has a 99-year lease on the land I think.
ReplyDeleteThe "locally brewed Samuel Adams beer" that they offer in their Boston store is actually brewed in Cincinnati.
ReplyDelete...bro/ho marketing plans are short sighted, but who cares!?! Once one crop starts to breed, they can move to the 'burbs, where one has to get in a car and drive two miles for any type of food or drink. And the next crop can drag here to the beer stores. Fun! Fun! Fun!
ReplyDeleteHope!
Delete1) Would people be happier if this was a giant Walgreens like the one on Union Square? I wouldn't - as much as I don't need Target, I could use another drugstore like I could use another hole in my butt.
ReplyDelete2) Speaking of which, how big is that two floor Walgreens? I would even combine the Walgreens and the Duane Reade - same company on opposite sides of the street. I can't imagine those stores together is much less than 44k sq ft
3) I don't think we need another large store in the area, considering we already have Kmart - though I bet Kmart will have a tougher time going forward, so maybe we'll only have one store left in a few years.
4) Yes, it would make more sense where it would be closer to more transportation - but who knows, maybe this will incentivize the city to build the 2nd ave Subway down to the village (nope, not going to happen, but one can dream, right?)
Hey Morgan. This is from a Times article from Oct. 1, 1996:
ReplyDeleteIn a major push, Kmart is opening two huge new stores, one on 34th Street adjoining Pennsylvania Station, which opens tomorrow, the other on Broadway between Eighth and Ninth Streets, which will open next month. The company, swallowing the high operating costs, is going for volume. Each store will be expected to contribute more than $50 million in sales.
A kind of cultural exchange has begun as well.
''People don't realize how normal New Yorkers are,'' said Myles Johns, who was appointed general manager of the 34th Street store two months ago. ''They're just like everybody else.''
The new stores, each with more than 140,000 square feet, are not flagships in the usual sense -- Kmart has larger stores elsewhere in its 2,144-store chain -- nor are they even the first in New York City. Kmart opened stores in Queens and the Bronx in the early 90's, not to mention in the 60's on Staten Island.
I assume this means a giant Wal-Mart is coming to the Essex Crossings.
ReplyDeleteGojira, are you surprised that our existence has been reduced to a single corporate product? After all, I know you are all about the Orange Julius Acai Bowls ;)
ReplyDeleteTo call New Yorkers normal is a base insult and will be met with your choice of swords or pistols at dawn.
ReplyDeleteI really hope it takes them years to get both buildings up, what with the respect they've shown to neighborhood residents.
ReplyDeleteSo they are going to build into the basement which is in a flood zone.
ReplyDeleteWhich items will be in a pared down Target is hard to conjecture. I go to the one on 116th St to stock up on cat food (49c/can vs 79c/can in the supermarket). I used to buy kids clothes there when I had a kid, and I still buy sheets there. I think they will focus on disposable housewares for dorm life. The store uptown literally has an entire aisle only for Tide detergent. I guess that can be pared down.
What I miss the most about 14th Street is the Bargain Bazaar. There was also a good one on 1st Ave in the Stuy Town stores, excellent selection of cheap sheets and tablecloths. There are a lot of discount stores like that uptown but they don't have sheets. Target is what replaces it--more expensive but shinier and the store manager is probably the only one who will make a decent wage. One Target is replacing 5 (?) small businesses on that street (trying to remember-pizza, deli, jewelry store, Bargain Bazaar, there were a couple more)
And one last musing on Target. When I moved to LA for a brief moment in the mid-80's (go west!) it was like a miracle to see Target for the first time. I had never seen anything like it. We bought everything there for our apartment and went there for fun because it was like going to a shopping amusement park. They had a liberal return policy and prices were reasonable. How times have changed and chain stores have taken over everywhere. The stores in NY are nothing like what I experienced in LA--they are disheveled, dirty and often lacking stock. The one in downtown Brooklyn is particularly disgusting.
Small correction Grieve - the pizza place on 14th near A was called Pete's-A-Place. I grew up on their slices, it's dearly missed.
ReplyDeleteInadvertent, I'm sure, but the formerly located pizzaria was named "Pete's-A-Place". Still mourning its loss...
ReplyDeleteAck. Thanks — I fixed the Pete's-A-Place name. (Pete's-A-Pizza has a nice ring to it though.)
ReplyDeleteRemember Pizza Piazza on Broadway? Miss that place too :( My family was broke but once a year we went there for my brother's 'fancy' birthday dinner.
ReplyDeleteAll this love for Trader Joes? Not only does this run counter to the chain hatred in this commrnt section, but havent you noticed that their produce goes bad in 2 days? And that you have to wait in line for 25 minutes just to save the 25cents or so for inferior products?
ReplyDeleteThis is good news and bad news. The good news is this is bad news for those side-by-side CVS and Duane Reades on 1st Avenue and 14th St. The bad news is that this is bad news for many of the mom and pop shops too. It's also probably bad news for the Associated or whatever grocery store remains in StuyTown. I have a few neighbors who drive uptown to the Target in East Harlem and do most of their grocery shopping there every week, and Target has bigger sizes and low prices that people just can't resist. And it's much nicer than K-Mart.
ReplyDeleteComplain! Complain! Complain! But Target is good for the nabe. Product at reasonable prices. And employment. Helps make the Ev whole. We ll get something.
ReplyDeleteIt's always been about managing growth. And this project is good for positive growth in the EV. Moving Beth Israel to 13t Street isn't. That would be devastating. Complain about that.
IMO Target will just about kill what little is left of this community.
ReplyDeleteIn the suburbs, Target and other big box stores are on commercial roads and shopping strips, not in the middle of residential housing. Suburban resident leave their communities to get to Target (Note no Targets in cute "downtowns" of Scarsdale and Chappaqua.
To put a Target in a walkable urban neighborhood not only kills local businesses, it also kills the actual community and streetscape.
Target, a "destination" store will also result in increased vehicle traffic - delivery trucks and people using cars/Uber/taxi - and increased pedestrian traffic. And increased garbage. (Traffic has skyrocketed at 72nd and Broadway since Trader Joe's opened in 2009)
Chain stores had already taken over major Manhattan commercial areas (East 86th St, 125th St etc) - and now big box stampeding into what were quiet residential areas...
For those enthusiastic about the cheap prices, let's flip the scenario a bit....would you be OK with a salary reduction or losing your job because your boss could find a someone willing to do your job for less?
Abnormal is normal.
ReplyDeleteWhat a disappointment it'll be if this Target store is all about the ready-made food and so-called organic groceries. We don't need Target for that. Target is best for things like toilet paper, toilet brushes and other toilet and household products.
ReplyDelete3:06
ReplyDeleteYou sound like the Tump of the EV. How dystopian can you get? Traffic is horrible in the city no matter what stores are in your community. And 14th Street is a major artery already packed with cars and trucks. And as far as salaries are concerned NY State will raise the minimum wage to $15.00. And nobody going to work for a BIGBox will make less than they do at a corner bodega... $5.00 cash per hour. Your reaction is knee-jerk .
Target? Barf. This is a slap in the face for those that live in this community. This is the city. Not the suburbs.
ReplyDeleteI'm also really confused about the "why can't it be trader Joe's?" comments. Why is that chain better than another chain? And why are you so desperate for a big chain that is literally already JUST DOWN THE STREET?
ReplyDeleteMuch as the EV has changed, I'm more concerned about the commentators here...what the hell happened to you all?
Target is a store, a big mall born store but still just a store. It is a better thing to have than another bro/ho sports or theme bar. I don't expect Target's customers will be drunk yelling and wooing at 3 AM.
ReplyDeleteManhattan is boring and expensive.
ReplyDeleteFunny, for many decades there was a Woolworths on that block, and no one complained about it being a national chain store.
ReplyDeleteHave not been to Target in a over a year but back then the grocery shopping there was terrible, cannot imagine telying on Target for groceries.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinkin' a big part of the situation here is that we, those who grew up adoring the thought, lifestyle, purpose and soul of.....
ReplyDeleteI'M NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE....
(ahem appropriately-named Mr Johns, he of the "normal" NewYorkers....grrrrr!)
has either cashed-out'n'died, fucked'off California/Portland/Mexico-dreamin or is barely surviving on fixed-incomes in this greed hothouse.
IF you could find a deep pockets and load up on the lawyers, you could try the old village stand-by....harass the shit out of them. Tarmf'njay has always been a bit flighty (because of some very creative voodoo economic year-ends, no doubt). Code violations, major neighborhood disruptions, parking issues, shady taxation abatements, etfreakin'cetera. LOTS of work for a few briefs bandits.
And, HEY, what could be more fun in the sun than goin' after these cultural armadas with one of our own?
Didn't some rube say that those wanting an independent mom-and-pop store should move to Sanders Vermont. Well, if you like Target and the EV becoming like a strip mall and full of bars, I say move to Trump's Nebraska esp. you, 4:33pm.
ReplyDeleteTarget is just a tad setep above a Family Dollar store. I'm glad that it's opening here, shows them Bloombergs godsend "billionaires" that they are really a no class bourgee.
ReplyDeleteWe look back starry-eyed at that Woolworth's! With its terrazzo floors, lunch counter, black & white photobooth, 40's style cloth sandals that were sold well into the 80's, those were the days my friends.
ReplyDeleteBut of course when Woolworth's went out and Bloom & Krup moved in from around the corner on 1st Avenue, now that was even better! A local business, since the 1920's, that really served the neighborhood's needs. Oh yes, I loved Bloom & Krup and look back upon shopping there with nostalgia. Target will never fill my shopping needs anywhere close to either Woolworth's or Bloom & Krup. But then again, neither die the Rite Aid that took over where the Red Apple Supermarket used to be. Don't miss that. And all this because of a dang welder at Pete's. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWoolworth's cannot be compared to Target. No way. That's like comparing Horn and Hardart's to a Denny's.
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes, Woolworth's was considered a chain store. But not the point. Not about the EV then was only for independent mom-n-pop stores. Back then, there were very few chain stores, like a McD, here and there. But nowadays almost every block is occupied by chain stores, plus the EV is in the top three NYC neighborhood that has the most chain stores. More importantly, chain stores are the only ones who can afford the rent now pushing out long term tenants both business and residential.
ReplyDeleteAs for Woolworth's...
"Our Spoons Came From Woolworth's" is a great summer read or anytime read.
K-mart didn't destroy the EV and neither will Target Jr.
ReplyDeleteWho are these trolls, shills for the developers I suspect. Anybody who has lived here for more than two minutes with eyes and a brain can see how Kmart contributed to the disaster that is now Astor Place, spreading its corporate suburban mall wings throughout the neighborhood killing small business. And if you think a bunch of minimum wage jobs is better than an entire extended family benefiting from being OWNERS of their own business you are the problem not the solution.
ReplyDelete5:57
ReplyDeleteJill, I totally agree with you. How dare BIGBox come into the EV and offer above minimum wage jobs to the unemployed in the EV and give them an opportunity to rise out of poverty at the expense of destroying the fratboy/girl culture we have nurtured over the last 20 years. Philistines all.
At 12:12 PM, Anonymous quoth:
ReplyDeleteRemember Pizza Piazza on Broadway? Miss that place too :( My family was broke but once a year we went there for my brother's 'fancy' birthday dinner.
The Milton Glaser pizza place! I loved that place for lunch; they did a good version of Chicago-style pizza.
Hey developer/cmarrty/troll. Maybe you haven't been reading the news but unemployment is at its lowest rate in decades and minimum wage jobs aren't hard to find, and they are not a living wage, especially not in NY unless you think having to provide food stamps for minimum wage workers makes sense--your tax dollars at work. As a Trump supporter I'm sure you also hate all the poor people you see and think chain stores are the answer to your dreams because you get rich off the high rents but trickle down doesn't work so your ideas just continue the downward spiral while enriching your greedy self. Supporting locally owned business where people can actually live above the poverty line, provide the same number of jobs, plus teach their workers how to run a business is what makes a strong growth economy at the very local level of shopkeeping. You know it was merchants who used to own the fancy houses around town, now it's the real estate developers and Wall Street cronies like you so I see why you think it's a good idea to enrich yourself but fuck everyone else, but if you actually cared about people's welfare, forcing them into lifelong minimum wage jobs isn't the answer.
ReplyDeleteHow dare BIGBox come into the EV and offer above minimum wage jobs to the unemployed in the EV and give them an opportunity to rise out of poverty
ReplyDeleteThis would be hilarious parody if you weren't so clearly dead serious. Show me one community where "BIGBox"* came in and brought the local residents out of poverty and I will eat my Mossimo by Target conductor hat.**
* what up with the one-word/caps styling? you don't work for Target's PR department, you realize
** which I do not own, because its is stupid-looking made-in-China crap
4:30... 7:10
ReplyDeleteYou are part of the problem. Your attitude toward the unemployed is patronizing. You are trying to socially engineer society. You can't tell the poor, the uneducated, the people looking for an once of dignity... looking for something to help them through life... the day that they can't work unless you approve of their working conditions. NYState will have a minimum wage of $15.00 soon. And laws protecting workers' rights. And BIGBox offers a larger group of people an opportunity to earn more money and join the mainstream of America.
This is why the L is getting a new entrance at that end of the First Avenue station platform.
ReplyDelete