Monday, August 17, 2026

'All uses considered' for this prime East Village corner

Photos by Steven 

A large "for lease" banner arrived last week at 130 Second Ave. on the southeast corner of St. Mark's Place, the former home of the Swiss Institute. 

As previously reported, the nonprofit contemporary art institution closed its East Village space on July 5 after eight years, ahead of a move to a new home on the Bowery.
Icon Realty Management is now marketing the entire commercial property as "flagship corner retail," with all uses considered, including restaurants and bars, offices and fitness centers. 

The offering (PDF!) totals 8,980 square feet: 2,360 square feet each on the ground floor, second floor and basement, plus a 1,900-square-foot landscaped private roof deck. 

As always, the asking rent is available upon request.

The space was previously a Chase branch. In February 2016, Icon filed demolition permits for the building after they didn't find any rental takers ... though the Swiss Institute eventually emerged as a tenant. 

We'll see if the corner gets as lucky with its next tenant.


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7 comments:

  1. E J KalafarskiAugust 17, 2026 at 8:12 AM

    There are plenty of times I complain about tearing down historical buildings. This wouldn’t be one of those; DOB data says the building only dates to 1954, it’s not very aesthetic, and I suppose in this case I would have no problem with it being replaced by denser housing (as long as it has a cool, accessible retail space as well… this is an important corner and this frontage can frankly be improved).

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  2. AnonymousAugust 17, 2026 at 8:59 AM

    Agreed this is a perfect corner to build a lot more housing on

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  3. AnonymousAugust 17, 2026 at 12:12 PM

    In case you both missed it, it said ICON... Do I need to say more?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jill WAugust 17, 2026 at 12:18 PM

    What is a cool, accessible retail space?

    With new buildings, the most likely outcome is ground floor retail in theory only, and sitting un-leased for 5-10 years. Promises of retail really should be scrutinized.

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    Replies
    1. E J KalafarskiAugust 17, 2026 at 3:01 PM

      Bring back the Continental. 5 shots for $10. Inflation solved.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousAugust 17, 2026 at 5:54 PM

      This was not the site of the Continental.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousAugust 17, 2026 at 3:06 PM

    Buyer beware. ICON is one of the worst companies to lease from. When they bought this property they also the property next door where the beloved Stage Diner was. They got rid of Stage quickly just like they got rid of Chase Bank. At that same moment in time ICON also bought other properties in the hood. ICON then quickly flipped some of those properties to lowlife Jared Kushner.

    ReplyDelete

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