The Old J&R Building Is Being Torn Down

I saw construction lights on inside 1 Park Row, which used to be the main building for J&R electronics, and sure enough, there’s news: Permits to demolish the six-story building were approved two weeks ago, and permits to construct a new building were approved on Thursday. According to the Schedule A, there will be just three stories, all retail. The architect is Fogarty Finger, which is based on Walker Street.

When J&R closed in 2014, the company promised to “rebuild this location into what we hope will be an unprecedented retailing concept and social mecca. In order to facilitate this exciting new initiative, the buildings that J&R occupies have to be totally reimagined and redeveloped.” It included the rendering below, which is presumably out of date, since it’s more than three stories.

This will be the third building under construction on that block of Park Row, along with the 25-story 1 Beekman and 45-story 23 Park Row.

 

14 Comments

  1. I think it could still be three stories by each floor would be double height creating a much more dramatic retail space.

    • If I read the DOB filing correctly, the perimeter wall height is 52 feet, which would make for high ceilings but not exactly double-high ones. (And that’s assuming there’s no parapet.)

  2. What’s wrong with the current building?
    Why must it be demolished?

  3. This would be a perfect site for a Uniqlo or similar retailer.

  4. Isn’t WeWork the company that purchased the Lord and Taylor
    flagship store. Are they also now taking ove4 the old J&R building? What’s wrong with keeping the old New York buildings intact?

  5. Do you know what was there before the current structure? I’d heard J&R illegally demolished a lovely old building to put up the current awful thing they’re now knocking down again.

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