350,000 SF Redevelopment Planned for Harlem's 125th Commercial Corridor
Posted July 14, 2011
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Mayor Bloomberg's administration has selected the developers to rehabilitate the former Taystee Bakery Complex and the Corn Exchange Building, both located along the 125th Street commercial corridor in Harlem.
The two projects will result in more than 350,000 square feet of new commercial space and are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars of new economic activity in Harlem. The projects will create 530 permanent jobs and 570 construction jobs.
NYCEDC selected Janus Partners LLC and Monadnock Construction, Inc. to redevelop the former Taystee Bakery complex into CREATE @ Harlem Green, providing an additional 328,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space to house a number of tenants from creative industries. NYCEDC also selected 125th Street Equities LLC to redevelop the Corn Exchange Building, rehabilitate its landmarked base and add six additional floors for office and retail use.
The two sites have each been vacant for several decades.
The CREATE @ Harlem Green development will revitalize and create a commercial building from most of the façades of the original buildings. The building will have entrances on both 125th and 126th Streets, with a pathway from 125th Street leading to an open courtyard on 126th Street and will include ground floor uses that activate the streetscape. Subject to public review and approval, when completed, the $100 million development will include 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, 90,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail space, and 10,000 square feet of community facility space and will create about 440 permanent jobs and 510 construction jobs.
Several locally-based businesses are expected to relocate or expand to CREATE @ Harlem Green. Harlem Brewing Company, which currently brews in Saratoga Springs, will be moving its production facility to CREATE @ Harlem Green and will also grow hops on an open roof, give tours and operate a brewing museum, a tap room and gift shop.
Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center will operate 53,000 square feet of manufacturing space to be leased as 1,000-5,000-square-foot spaces for small manufacturing and artisan companies. HerFlan, currently incubating at the kitchen incubator at La Marqueta, will be expanding and growing their business by establishing a wholesale production facility and retail outlet. Carver Federal Savings Bank, the largest African-American operated bank in the United States, plans to open a banking presence at the new CREATE @ Harlem Green and to participate in the project financing.
The Corn Exchange Building, located on the northwest corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue next to the 125th Street Metro North train station, will be redeveloped by 125th Street Equities LLC. Originally built in 1883, the Corn Exchange Building was designed by the firm of Lamb & Rich, and was given landmark status by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1993. The building is presently vacant and has been in severe disrepair since the late 1970's.
125th Street Equities LLC will rehabilitate the historic base of the building and reconstruct an additional six floors to restore the building in a manner that is consistent with its landmark status, and all work and any proposed changes to the building will be reviewed and approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The total development will be approximately 31,000 square feet, with 22,000 square feet planned for office space and 9,000 square feet for retail. The $16 million development is expected to create about 90 permanent jobs and 60 construction jobs.
Janus Partners LLC and Monadnock Construction, Inc. were selected to redevelop the former Taystee Bakery Complex based on their response to a Request for Expressions of Interest NYCEDC released for the site in November 2010. NYCEDC had previously conveyed the site to Harlem Real Estate LLC, an affiliate of Citarella, in 2001, but as a result of the entity's failure to renovate the site, the New York State Supreme Court awarded title to back to NYCEDC in 2009.
125th Street Equities LLC was selected to redevelop the Corn Exchange Building based on their response to a Request for Expressions of Interest NYCEDC released for the site in March 2011. NYCEDC had previously conveyed the site to Corn Exchange LLC in 2003, but, there too, as a result of Corn Exchange LLC's failure to renovate the site, the New York State Supreme Court awarded title back to NYCEDC in 2009.
A substantial part of the 125th Street corridor and its immediate vicinity were rezoned in April 2008 as part of a comprehensive initiative by the City to strengthen the 125th Street corridor as a regional business district and bolster its historic role as an arts, entertainment and retail hub. Developed by the Department of City Planning with Harlem stakeholders over four years, the plan was designed to reinforce 125th Street as a commercial corridor and catalyze new development while protecting the scale of the corridor's commercial and historic brownstone areas.
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