Progress Report #4: What’s Coming South of Chambers

Previous Progress Reports:
••• Progress Report #1: North of Chambers and West of Hudson
••• Progress Report #2: East of Hudson and North of Franklin
••• Progress Report #3: East of Hudson Between Franklin and Chambers

37 WARREN
The long-dormant building at the southwest corner of Warren and Church is coming back to life as condos, and four stories are being added to the top. No word yet on what will take the storefront; it’s a pretty big space (or at least it was when Janovic was there). According to an LMCCC post, it will still be retail, and the entire project will be completed May 2012. Wait, look: an old rendering. Adding floors is risky business. Cross your fingers, folks.

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55 WARREN/55 MURRAY
The scaffolding came down off 55 Warren (also 55 Murray—it goes through to the other side). When I first wrote about the project, it was under the auspices of Prudential Douglas Elliman, which had the floor plans posted on its site. At some point, broker Robert Dvorin moved to Town Real Estate, evidently taking the project with him. There’s a placeholder website, but not many other details are available. The building looks gorgeous, but the delay makes one wonder if it’s stalled again, or perhaps the folks behind it are waiting for summer to end. According to the floor plans mentioned above, the storefronts will be residential, but those plans never mentioned a private pool for the penthouse (which was touted on a banner on the scaffolding), so who knows.

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BATTERY PARK CITY BALL FIELDS
According to the Broadsheet Daily, the grass on the BPC ball fields is being replaced by artificial turf, and energy-efficient lights are being added. Work is supposed to be done by Labor Day.

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ASPHALT GREEN BATTERY PARK CITY
The 52,000-square-foot athletic facility and community center—an offshoot of the Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side—is either opening Nov. 1 (if we believe the membership counselor I spoke with) or by the end of the year (if we believe a spokesperson). It promises to be quite something; read the full list of amenities on AGBPC’s website. Rates, including info on (cheaper) “charter memberships” are here.

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AFFINA NAILS SPA & NYC LASER CENTER
What you see is what I know: Affina Nails Spa & NYC Laser Center is “coming soon” to Church between Warren and Murray. How long till the Groupon deal?

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DOWNTOWN FLORIST
Also on tap at Tribeca Space: Downtown Florist is said to be moving around the corner from 125 Church to the storefront east of Takahachi Bakery.

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RESTAURANT
Dr. Michel Cohen of Tribeca Pediatrics has rented the old Bangal Curry space at 65 W. Broadway (the Bangal Curry on Church is unrelated), although when we communicated in June he said he was no longer sure what he’s doing with it. Click that link to see what Tribeca Citizen readers suggested. UPDATE 8/25: This just in from Dr. Cohen: “We will opening end of October a restaurant based on great, high-quality lunch food both for take-out and sit-in. At night the place will turn into a cafe/wine bar. The place is designed by Matt Maddy who also designed Weather Up on Duane.”

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CONRAD NEW YORK AND MUCH MORE
The keystone of the Goldman Sachs Dining & Entertainment Complex (that’s a name I made up for it, by the way; sometimes I see it repeated as if it’s official) is the Conrad New York, a conversion of the old Embassy Suites into Hilton’s fanciest brand. Scheduled to open by the end of the year, it’ll have 463 rooms, 22,000 square feet of meeting space, a 5,800-square-foot ballroom, and a rooftop bar. As for the storefronts within the building—besides the already open Shake Shack—there will be two other Danny Meyer restaurants (a Blue Smoke outpost and the fancier North End Grill, with ex-Tabla chef Floyd Cardoz). Also coming along the arcade that runs between the GS building proper and the hotel: François Payard Bakery (opening in September); a spinoff of Battery Place Market (September); an optometrist/eyewear shop; and Vintry Fine Wines, a store related to Peter Poulakakos’s Vintry Wine & Whiskey on Stone Street (it’ll be in the GS building proper). Coming to the hotel building: Asian-fusion restaurant Wei West; and possibly a Latin American-themed restaurant. The Regal movie theater will still be there, as will Pick A Bagel.

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PARK51
The heavily publicized, lightly funded Islamic cultural/community center—known to some as the “Ground Zero mosque” (sigh)—recently announced that it may end up being four or five stories instead of 15. Even so, it’s a long way off.

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PRET A MANGER
British fast-food chain Pret a Manger appears to be opening any day at the southwest corner of Church and Park Place, in the full-block 100 Church building.

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ANNE FRANK CENTER USA
Also coming to 100 Church, in a storefront on Park Place: the Anne Frank Center USA, a “not-for-profit organization that promotes the universal message of tolerance by developing and disseminating a variety of educational programs, including exhibitions, workshops, and special events.” (Anyone upset by Park51 might want to stop in.) It’s poised to open this fall, possibly sometime in October.

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AROMA ESPRESSO BAR
The southeast corner of 100 Church (at Barclay and Church), meanwhile, will be an Aroma Espresso Bar outpost. It’s not opening anytime soon.

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FITERMAN HALL
Located in the block bordered by W. Broadway, Park Place, Barclay, and Greenwich, the old 15-story Fiterman Hall, part of Borough of Manhattan Community College, was damaged by debris falling from 7 World Trade on 9/11 (and it had just undergone a $62 million renovation). Decontamination and demolition took a long time, but the new $325 million Fiterman Hall is coming along. The 14-story building will have 96 classrooms, offices, a ground floor gallery, and a small conference center. It’s projected to open next fall.

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And that’s it! The World Financial Center is also in serious flux, with many retail tenants being booted before a major overhaul; Century 21 is planning a huge expansion; the National September 11 Memorial opens to the public on Sept. 12; the rest of the World Trade Center is a big question mark…. Stay tuned for details on all of these and more.

Previous Progress Reports:
••• Progress Report #1: What’s Coming North of Chambers and West of Hudson
••• Progress Report #2: What’s Coming East of Hudson and North of Franklin
••• Progress Report #3: What’s Coming East of Hudson Between Franklin and Chambers

Did I forget anything? Email tribecacitizen@gmail.com.

 

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