A shopping center developer bought the building at the north west corner of 125th Street and FDB/8th Avenue for $30 million in 2007 but has not been able to do anything with it until now. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kimco Realty Corp. had given up last year on the idea of attracting major retailers to the three story site but they have now been approached by several big-box names. A realtor in the article mentioned that the bad economy hit the entire city in the past year and "Harlem is no different from Union Square, SoHo or anywhere else." Fast forward to 2010 and interest has now intensified. The developers are currently proceeding with the plans to convert the 110-year-old building into 60,000 square foot of retails space and have a completion date of 2011 in mind. Apparently, 125th Street is generating quite a buzz these days. Read more in the WSJ article: LINK.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
☞ READ: More Momentum on 125th Street
A shopping center developer bought the building at the north west corner of 125th Street and FDB/8th Avenue for $30 million in 2007 but has not been able to do anything with it until now. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kimco Realty Corp. had given up last year on the idea of attracting major retailers to the three story site but they have now been approached by several big-box names. A realtor in the article mentioned that the bad economy hit the entire city in the past year and "Harlem is no different from Union Square, SoHo or anywhere else." Fast forward to 2010 and interest has now intensified. The developers are currently proceeding with the plans to convert the 110-year-old building into 60,000 square foot of retails space and have a completion date of 2011 in mind. Apparently, 125th Street is generating quite a buzz these days. Read more in the WSJ article: LINK.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This area of FDB from 125th to 133rd street is seriously decrepit - any development is good for the community.
ReplyDelete125th street continues to gain traction. It is coming along beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a WSJ subscription. What is the plan? Any retail names mentioned?
ReplyDeleteNo ... it just says "several big box retailers."
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is enough space but I think a Bed Bath & Beyond would do great here. A bookstore would be great, but unfortunately bookstores are facing a declining market.
Can they fit an Ikea in 60,000 square foot space?
ReplyDeleteIkea only builds stand alone big blue commercial structures with big parking lots available. So, no. And that is a good thing. Can you imagine the amount of congestion and traffic that would bring to the area. Not a good thing. Foot traffic good, cars bad.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:24,
ReplyDeleteRight on!
Agree with Anon @ 11:24. Ikea needs a parking lot around it - East River Plaza would've been an idea. Besides, I'm not sure I see the value in having a furniture store within walking distance. You run out to pick up groceries, toiletries, towels, sheets, hardware, cleaning supplies, etc. But buying furniture isn't really an ongoing thing. Nobody just pops into Ikea, so it doesn't have to be in a centralized location.
ReplyDeleteOf all the big retailers, Bed Bath and Beyond is probably the best best because of their vast array of merchandise at various prices and because there are few stores on 125th offering similar items. The other BBB's in the city are always crowded so they do well anywhere it seems. Petco seems to be a store that always does well also - people spend money on their pets regardless of income level.
ReplyDeleteI live right in that area, so I'm definitely not looking forward to the added congestion that will inevitably follow. I know it's just a minor sacrifice to be made for the exciting progress. Would love to see a Target there.
ReplyDeleteWest Elm!
ReplyDeleteKimco owns strip malls. So, there's likely to be one 30,000 sf anchor and several small shop spaces. That may mean a Babies R Us or a Bed Bath plus a couple dry goods retailers like Sleepy's or GameStop and maybe a couple small restaurants like a pizza shop and a deli. I predict that it won't be exciting stuff - except for the space being filled by solid stores that invite foot traffic and improve that corner.
ReplyDelete