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Robert Ripps book
History of Tribeca Buildings
Goodbye to a Slice of Old Tribeca?
City Hall Wines & Spirits—the liquor store at 108 Chambers—is moving to 158 Church, less than a block away.
Is its wonderful old storefront—with the curved windows—in jeopardy? The smart money says yes. First, single-story buildings are right below parking lots on the Tribeca Endangered List. Second, the property changed hands in October, selling for $6.1 million to an entity called Ldl Chambers; the accompanying address is the same as Ashkenazy Acquisition‘s. “Headquartered in New York City,” says the company’s website, “Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation is a private real estate investment firm focusing on retail and office assets. Ashkenazy Acquisition has acquired over 13 million square feet of retail, office and residential properties, located throughout the United States and Canada. With a portfolio containing more than 100 buildings valued at approximately $5 billion, Ashkenazy Acquisition has a superior performance history in purchasing and managing premier assets.” It seems reasonable to assume they might have bigger plans for that plot. (I left a message….)
And of course that plot also includes the Imperial Coffee House and the Basics Plus hardware store on Church.
The bigger question is whether the project could be even larger in scope. From the Commercial Observer last April, when 108 Chambers went on the market: “The property at 108 Chambers Street, a one-story retail building, is a development site which includes 2,000 square feet of existing retail and up to 14,000 square feet of buildable space. ‘Combined with contiguous properties that could be a much larger development.’” The only potential contiguous properties are the dilapidated ones to the west, on Chambers—including the building where the Patriot Saloon is. And have you noticed that the bar hasn’t replaced its neon sign? Opting instead for a cheap, possibly temporary one made of plastic? Then again, I could be reading too much into that—it is the Patriot we’re talking about.
Update: Comments have been turned off due to spam. To have them turned back on, email tribecacitizen@gmail.com.
12 Comments
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He might leave this as a one story retail and reposition the tenant. Landbanking this site has a great upside because Tribeca will highly unlikely lose value.
Oh those beautiful curved windows…..
This site is part of our July 2013 request to LPC to put the area in the historic district. Wake up Tribecans! You should be begging LPC to expand Tribeca South Historic District to include the site.
Lynn, you are completely out of control. That corner is a dump and an eyesore. Would be great to demolish the existing building and put an upscale boutique hotel that brings commerce and jobs to the neighborhood. It is difficult enough to get anything done in this city, creating further roadblocks will just drive investment elsewhere. Please go mind your own business!
reademan, she is minding her own business. the whole point of a site like this is to voice opinions about our neighborhood. the bloomberg era is over may it rest in piece along with the over-development of poorly thought out developer schemes that it foisted upon us.
Tribeca Wines and Sprits( in Tribeca Forever!) building is such a beauty! I would be very sad to see it replaced.
I am with Lynn on this one — The liquor store, a basic, old-fashioned remnant of a neighborhood now stuffed with upscale wine emporiums, and the coffee shop, unpretentious hang out for local artists (yes, there are a few left) — are way more important to maintaining a feeling of neighborhood than more expensive boutique hotels and ‘luxury lofts’ (that grotesque oxymoron coined by the real estate establishment).
One persons “dump” is another’s beauty. Or liquor store. Or diner. And that corner is hardly a dump.
Why do we have to constantly destroy the charm of our neighborhood in the name of progress, or “investment”? Is Tribeca in danger of becoming the next Detroit? From 2000 to 2010, Tribeca (including surrounding neighborhoods of Little Italy, SoHo and the Civic Center, in which there have been very little in the way of new construction) grew by 6,000 people, according to US census data. Economically, the neighborhood seems to be doing just fine, generating plenty of money and attracting around 600 new people to live here every year, spend money here and enjoy what makes it different from other areas of New York City. I don’t see people fleeing from Tribeca due to economic roadblocks- unless you count being forced out by skyrocketing prices.
Yes, I could pick out a building here and there that is in need of work, or is nothing special, but taken as a whole, Tribeca is a neighborhood made up of a huge number beautiful and architecturally significant buildings. There are still many quiet cobblestone streets, 19th century stone sidewalks, and plenty of local small businesses that are thriving.
I think what is out of control is rampant development, greed and wanton demolition of our charming (for the most part) and historic neighborhood. The only thing we need less than another “upscale boutique hotel”, is another luxury high rise (like the 60 story/821 foot tall 56 Leonard Street tower).
Amen!
Bring back Job Lot!
or or Ralph’s!
Unfortunately old Tribeca is rapidly fading into memory…..