GLASS AT NEW MANHATTAVILLE HOTEL

Harlem Bespoke:  The hotel at 410 West 126th Street and Morningside Avenue started up right before the pandemic and now the windows are finally being installed.  We walked this section Manhattanville last week and took the above photos and things are really moving quickly at this point in time.  Check out our past post for more details on the forthcoming tourist abode: LINK

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MORE CONSTRUCTION IN MANHATTANVILLE AND 125TH

Harlem Bespoke:  The foundation work has finished up at the former McDonald's site at the corner of 125th Street at the corner of Broadway and now the new dorm tower for Columbia University will be rising up in the next few months.  Oddly enough, this residential development is the only construction currently happening at the Manhttanville grounds and other campus buildings appear to be on hold at this point in time.  Check out our past post for more on what is coming to this corner of West Harlem: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2022

CONSTRUCTION: 2371 8TH AVENUE RISES

Harlem Bespoke: The empty lot over at 2371 Frederick Douglass Boulevard by 127th Street broke ground this past spring and now the new residential building is really rising these days.  We took the above photos in the past month and it looks like everything will top off by this side of the year.  Check out our post to learn more about the new development that will probably be ready by the time the upcoming winter season is over: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2022

CONSTRUCTION: NEW FACADE AT FORMER PS 157

Harlem Bespoke: Facade restoration had been going on at the former PS 157 on St. Nicholas Avenue by 126th Street for the past couple of years and now it looks like everything is pretty much complete.   We took the above photos in the past week or so and the scaffolding out front was finally mostly removed.  As many know by now, this historic building was transformed into affordable rental apartments decades ago and is one of the first notable adaptive reuse developments in the neighborhood.  Check out our past post to see archival image from over a century ago that reveal even more unique details: LINK

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NUL AND TRADER JOE'S HARLEM FULLY GLASSED

Harlem Bespoke: We have another update for those waiting for the Trader Joe's in Harlem to open at the National Urban League building on 125th Street by Lenox Avenue!  The above photos were taken over the weekend and so now the full facade has been glassed.  The larger windows on the street level started going up in July and now things have finished up out front which is a major milestone.

CONSTRUCTION: 282 WEST 132ND STREET

Harlem Bespoke: One of the empty lots that has been in the neighborhood for as long as we can remember will finally have something built up at the corner location on Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE STATUE AT NEW BUILDING

Harlem Bespoke: The iconic statue at the front of the National Black Theatre just north of 125th Street at Fifth Avenue was removed right before the building was fully demolished last year and that left some questions on the public work of art's fate.  Everything on the block was gone by end of 2021 and now a recent rendering on the plywood reveals that the statue will be restored to the same location within a brand new theater space.

VICTORIA THEATRE LOWER MARQUEE CONSTRUCTION

Harlem Bespoke:  We broke the news last week that the vertical signage on the marquee of the Victoria Theatre on 125th Street just east of Frederick Douglass was finally restored and now workers are quickly putting together the lower overhang section.  Bronze panels were being installed yesterday on the framework over the entrance and everything seems to be progressing very quickly.  Hopefully the sidewalk goes away in the next week or so since it looks like all of the facade details will have been finished by then.  More on Victoria restoration can be found in our past post: LINK

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DEMOLITION: 164-168 WEST 136TH STREET

Harlem Bespoke: We were hopeful for the future of the pair of brownstones at 164-168 West 136th Street just west of Adam Clayton Powell when the townhouses sold back in 2015 but a full restoration never quite happened.  Plywood fences when up in 2017 but then nothing happened until earlier in the year as the lower photo reveals.  Everything was demolished since there was no landmark protection for this historic block and a poster out front now reveals what will be arriving in the not too distant future. 

CONSTRUCTION: 152 WEST 136TH STREET BROWNSTONE

Harlem Bespoke:  We first noticed that the empty lot at 152 West 136th Street was preparing for construction back in 2018 and was surprised to see that some decent progress had been made during the pandemic.

RENOVATIONS AT FORMER HALE HOUSE ON 122ND

Harlem Bespoke:  The former Hale House at 152 West 122nd Street used to house a famous charity but shuttered back in 2008 and finally sold during the pandemic a couple of years ago.  We took the above photos this week and a lot of facade restoration is currently going on. One key thing to note is that the portico entrance and stoop are now both being added back since they had been removed decades ago.  So what will eventually happen to this landmark brownstone in the Mount Morris Park Historic District? 

CONSTRUCTION: NEW STUDIO MUSEUM RISES ON 125TH

Harlem Bespoke: The 125th Street Studio Museum started the demolition of the former building back in 2019 and was completed in 2020 but the construction site did not appear to have a lot of action until recently. Below ground foundation work takes a long time to finish up initially but now the floors are starting to rise as of late. 

CONSTRUCTION: 2371 FREDERICK DOUGLASS BLVD

Harlem Bespoke: We never thougth to see the day when the empty lot on Frederick Douglass just north of 127th Street would finally be filled in but that is definitely starting to happen now.  There was an abandoned 6-story tenement building on site that was demolished back in 2012 so it has been about 10 years since any activity has taken place.  Apparently the foundation is currently being worked on and there was a rendering on the plywood out front. 

SHOP: PROGRESS AT WINE BAR ON LENOX AVENUE

Harlem Bespoke: We wrote earlier in the month that the wine bar on  Lenox by West 131st Street has been taking its sweet time to open but this year things might just be the magic moment when everything comes together.  The above photo was taken yesterday afternoon and the facade looks to be finishing up with new windows and industrial lights overhead.

CONSTRUCTION: 2171 FREDERICK DOUGLASS BLVD

Harlem Bespoke: Construction started up at 2171 Frederick Douglass Boulevard about 4 years ago and the building finally looks like it will be finishing up.

CONSTRUCTION: 88 EAST 127TH BREAKS GROUND

Harlem Bespoke: Construction around the east side is starting to pick up once again and we noticed that a former parking lot between East 126th and East 127th Street on Park Avenue had a lot of activity going on.  Diggers were actually on site breaking ground and the plywood around the block revealed the mix use building that will be arriving soon.

CONSTRUCTION: THE SPIRIT OF HARLEM 2022

Harlem Bespoke:  Construction started up again at the storefront on the corner of 125th and Frederick Douglass Boulevard but the this time the famous mosaic mural will not be be removed.  Those who have lived in the neighborhood for some time will remember that the beloved artwork was commissioned back in 2005 by a bank but when construction started up for another business a decade later, the colorful wall disappeared.  Everyone was upset because Louis Del Sarte's work really became sort of local landmark and in 2018 was officially restored on site.  Thankfully the same mistake will not be made twice this time around and so someone actually learned from a bit of history for once.  More on the amazing mosaic wall can be found in our past post: LINK

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INTRODUCING: ROSA'S PIZZA ARRIVING ON FDB

Harlem Bespoke: Bars and lounges have been popping up all over the place in the past year or so and we were suprised to see one actually shutter on Frederick Douglass Boulevard recently. This location was the Moca bar at the corner of West 119th Street and we saw some major construction at the address since the new year started.

REMEMBER: A GAS STATION AT WEST 122ND STREET

Harlem Bespoke:  Another abandoned gas station in the neighborhood was at 300 West 122nd Street on St. Nicholas Avenue but the site would finally be developed for residential use.  Back in 2014, an original rendering was floating around which did not make the final cut but construction would start up by 2018 right after most of the block was demolished.  There was also a parking garage building next door which was another testament to the car-centric past of the city and both relics are now gone. Everything has been finishing up recently and the new architecture is actually kind of cool with some major arches on the top level that are a standout: LINK

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RESTORATION: 135 WEST 132ND STREET

Harlem Bespoke: Number 135 West 132nd Street just west of Lenox Avenue has been under construction in the past couple of year or so and the above photo was taken just before the scaffolding went up.  This will be a full facade restoration that will include the commercial spaces below and even the cornice at the top of the building.  Hopefully things will finish up by next year and we will have a before-and-after post for the big reveal.  In the past, architectural details have been neglected in the neighborhood but restoration projects are now more complete these days.

HarlemBespoke.com 2021