Prima Auto & Truck Repair has moved out of 438-440 Greenwich (above), at the northwest corner of Vestry. In itself, that might not be meaningful, except the company seems to have left abruptly—the person I spoke with said its new location (356 West) is temporary, and that it might end up in Brooklyn, but definitely not back in Tribeca. Moreover, the lot and the one directly to the north (444-446 Greenwich) are both owned by Ponte Equities, which has been very busy lately laying waste to redeveloping northwest Tribeca.

Both 438-440 and 444-446 Greenwich are within the Tribeca North Historic District, so any changes have to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The LPC, however, has shown little mercy for buildings that are on their own unremarkable—no matter if they cumulatively add a distinct flavor to the historic district. Take 187 Franklin. Or, more recently, take 456 Greenwich, where Ponte Equities is converting a single-story building into a restaurant for an adjacent 11-story hotel. The chair of the LPC said she would have been fine with tearing the building down and replacing it with something taller.

All of this is conjecture; no permits have been filed with the Department of Buildings… yet.