When a reader emailed that a construction worker at 108 Chambers (where Imperial Coffee House was) said the new building will house a Starbucks and a Vitamin Shoppe, I responded that it seemed unlikely because the old building hasn’t even been fully torn down and there are two other Starbucks within coffee-spitting distance. I was wrong.

That’s from a brochure that commercial real-estate firm HFF, “a leading provider of capital markets transaction services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry,” produced for the International Council of Shopping Centers retail conference last May. Not only does the text confirm that the two spaces at 108 Chambers are leased to Starbucks and the Vitamin Shoppe, but the rendering is the first one we’ve seen for 108 Chambers. There’s a decent chance that it’s out of date, though. In June, when I asked Greystone, the developer, why the axonometric drawing on the site shows two stories when the Department of Buildings filings indicate ten, the rep responded, “We are focusing on getting the retail portion built out as soon as possible, so the current drawing on site represents that. We identified additional square footage for the residential portion, so those plans are being revised and resubmitted for approvals.” I still don’t know if that means they’re going to build on top of the completed building. Greystone’s own website makes it sound like the residential part of project is still up in the air: “Greystone acquired a single-story corner retail development at Church and Chambers Streets in Tribeca, which will be transformed into a top-notch commercial destination with the potential for 12,000 sq ft of residential development above.” (Underlining mine.)

Below is a much larger version of the same rendering (click on it to enlarge) that I found archived on another site, but it has since been removed from the page where it used to live. I’m including it here so that you can get a sense of what the massing will likely look like, even if the design changes. It makes an interesting counterpoint to 30 Warren, across Church street.

As for the Starbucks, the smart wager would be that one of the nearby outlets—Church/Murray or W. Broadway/Chambers—isn’t long for this world. Can the company really believe that a third café is required in such small area? (That’s not even including the ones at Broadway/Reade, Broadway/Park Place, the WTC mall, W. Broadway/Leonard….) Last question: Am I the only one who’s surprised Starbucks wouldn’t have preferred the corner spot?