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)
