Supermarkets and nightclubs have already been tried so something else has to arrive on 12th Avenue to make it a vibrant area. Once major issue is that the subway is a bit of trek and only businesses like Dinosaur Bar-B-Que or Fairway make it worth while but that is not enough. The new beer garden should bring some much needed day traffic but a much larger anchor should be considered for aforementioned former adaptive reuse space. Something like Ikea comes to mind since the major home furnishing retailer would attract foot traffic from all around. Even Home Depot would be a good choice in our opinion since that chain is a greatly needed resource uptown but the amount of square footage available might be an issue for those options but mini versions could solve that problem. Any suggestions out there?
Columbia has much of the land on a lock until construction finishes up in the next decade so the existing storefronts need to worked together to bring in a continuous stream of the greater uptown population together. This only works in a day-to-night model which the nightclubs have proven to be unsuccessful at so hopefully the future planning of anchor tenants will consider all of the above factors. The West Harlem piers are also right there so the elements are in place for a destination location but all the pieces are not the right fit at this point in time.
Didn't the covo people open another location? I wish them luck-it was always a delicious option for larger group or with my young children. Very family friendly and always a table.
ReplyDeleteI think someone mentioned (maybe on this site) that Bono, on 151st and Broadway, was from the same people as Covo.
DeleteKinda sad to see Covo leave. We used to have office socials on their second floor, which was pretty spacious.
Average Ikea is 280,000 sq feet. Lol.
ReplyDeleteLink has been added to demonstrate the new mini Ikea model which is about 20,000 square foot of space.
DeleteThe entire complex at 701 West 135th Street is roughly 19,186 square foot according to a recent sales listing.
ReplyDeleteCovo was in many ways a victim of an improving neighborhood. When there weren't a lot of dining options in Hamilton Heights, a trek over there for a bowl of pasta or a good, but not great, pizza made perfect sense, especially in the summer when you could sit outside. But in the winter, when you can go to the Grange, Anchor, Bono, Maison Harlem, the Draft House?
ReplyDeleteThe beer garden is exactly the kind of thing that should go here, and if anything, I think the Covo space is better suited for a beer hall.
Retail that far north in Manhattanville doesn't make sense to me, and transportation is so inconvenient I don't see it. A better restaurant, perhaps something mixing in entertainment ala Ginny's could work. Covo did have that whole second floor.
A beer hall is already arriving one block south so another one makes no sense. Ginny's is empty during most days and is only a night time business which does not help the 24 hour foot traffic issue of the area.
DeleteTrader Joe's might work
ReplyDeleteTrader joes definitely won't work because of the close proximity to fairway which had a parking lot for easy access
DeleteSo sorry to read this about Covo! It was a wonderful neighborhood eatery and in the summers, sitting outside in the cool shade of the Park wall and trees was 10% cooler then the city's prevailing temperature. You felt like you were in Rome, peering up at the massive rustic stone retaining wall and sipping your wine and dining on great Italian dishes.
ReplyDeleteoh no. I really enjoyed having them in the neighborhood even though it was a little out of the way.
ReplyDeleteyou know, i don't think this was primarily about customer/foot traffic. covo was always full and doing well. the building changed hands a few years ago and there was some talk about raising the rent on covo quite dramatically—i really have a feeling it was just the usual landlord crap.
ReplyDeleteI like to the idea of a Home Depot Express of some sort, what about a diner?
ReplyDelete