I was wondering if you knew what was planned for the corner of Watts and West. My fiancé and I used to park our car in the lot there, but we received a phone call a few weeks ago telling us the lot had been sold to someone who plans to build a ‘big building’ so we needed to vacate by the end of the month. —S.

S. told me that the address was 281-287 West Street, so I got online and found a mention of the plot during the brouhaha over whether there was a better spot for the Garbage Garage (281-287 West was rejected as too small). As I suspected, it’s owned by Ponte Equities. Ponte owns a lot of northwest Tribeca.

From left: 456 (?) and 460 Washington

I called Ponte a couple times, and eventually a gentleman named John Mele called me back. He sounded confused as to why I didn’t know that there were plans for a building for that spot. I realized that he was talking about 460 Washington—which I did know about—but, I explained, I hadn’t realized the adjacent parking lot as included. “It’s the whole southern half of the block,” said Mele. It’s a joint venture, he added, and they’re not sure what the end result will be, but residential rentals are likely to be involved (à la Truffles Tribeca).”A lot of people like the warehouses,” he said, speaking of 460 Washington and its neighbor, “but I don’t think they’ll be part of the final design. I don’t know the details, though.”

Got a question? Email it to tribecacitizen@gmail.com.

Previous “Nosy Neighbor” posts:
• Is Pier 26 being worked on again?
• What’s up with Jin Market?
• What are those black pellets on Pier 25?
• What do the characters on 47 Vestry mean?
• When is T.J. Maxx opening?
• Where is the Special Forces monument going?
• Who’s moving into 151 Hudson?
• What’s going on at 172 Duane?
• Where is Compose’s pastry chef cooking now?
• What’s up with those Verizon carts?
• Where was the original Blues Bar?
• Who are the guys in the geeky pants?
• Why are the windows above Ponte’s boarded up?
• Can we walk on the West Street medians?
• What’s going on in 157 Hudson?
• What’s the new painting at 153 Hudson?
• What’s up with 55 Warren/55 Murray?
• What is this P.C. Richard & Son Theater I keep hearing about?
• What’s the story behind the lights at 289 Church?
• What’s the Dream House at 275 Church?
• How come every every film and TV shoot seems to have a trailer with doors marked “Lucy” and “Desi”?