By Patrick Hedlund
First came Trump — now comes the trash.
Hudson Square residents are up in arms again, this time over a city plan to move forward this week with a much-maligned proposal for a massive sanitation garage in the neighborhood.
The Department of Sanitation on Tuesday confirmed it will release a draft environmental impact statement, or E.I.S. “in the next several days” regarding the 140-foot-tall Sanitation garage proposed on the UPS lot north of Spring St. along West St. The uniform land use review procedure, or ULURP will also be filed by the end of this month, said Matthew LiPani, a Sanitation spokesperson.
The proposal to build a garage housing three districts’ worth of Sanitation trucks and other equipment has drawn the ire of local residents, business owners and developers alike since its unveiling early this year. A group of community members now plans to pursue legal action against the city in an effort to stop the garage, claiming the department has remained too tight-lipped about details of the project since revising it in July.
“There’s a number of different issues we could sue over,” said David Reck, president of the Friends of Hudson Square, adding the group met on Monday and decided to hold a fundraiser in January to raise money for legal fees. “[A lawsuit] looks like our only option at this point.”
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Units in Tribeca’s larger residential developments continue to move fast, according to Downtown sales figures, with many already at or near capacity.
The 34-story, 227-unit development 101 Warren St. is currently 99 percent sold, said senior managing director James Lansill, of Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group. The development only has two, three-plus-bedroom duplex penthouses available, going for $13.65 million and $16.35 million each. He noted all the other units sold out over a 10-month period.
Across the street, the 30-story, 258-unit development 200 Chambers Street is 100 percent sold, said director of sales Ed Berry, of the Marketing Directors, Inc. The final unit sold in October, he said, after pre-construction sales began in 2005.
We’ll see how the new homeowners like the added traffic from this month’s opening of Bed Bath & Beyond and Barnes & Noble in 101 Warren — but hungry buyers will have to wait till next year for Whole Foods.
Farther north, the 7-story, 65-unit Tribeca Summit, located at 415 Greenwich St., is currently 80 percent sold, said director of sales Philip Tanen, of Prudential Douglas Elliman. The development still has two two-bedrooms, three three-bedrooms, two three-to-four-bedrooms, one four-bedroom, and one townhouse available, ranging in price from 2.65 million to 4.55 million.
Media Square
The television-commercial production company A Very Small Office has taken over larger office space in Hudson Square, adding to the current media migration into the neighborhood.
The two-year-old design, animation and live-action commercial producer has purchased 1,950 square feet at the new 304 Spring St., at the corner of Renwick St., for $1.65 million, said broker Roxanne Betesh of Sinvin Realty. She represented A Very Small Office in the deal, which is currently in contract and expected to close the week of Nov. 26.
The company currently rents at 145 Hudson St. in Tribeca but chose to relocate north to Hudson Square for bigger and more attractive digs, according to office manager Jordyn Acconcia. A Very Small Office will now operate out of 1,200 square feet of ground-floor space and 750 square feet in the basement.
Sweetheart deal for Soho Rep
The Soho Repertory Theatre will take over space in Tribeca next month to stage a special performance, arranging for a discounted deal at 66 White St. to house the show’s New York premiere.
The Soho Rep agreed to rent the nearly 6,000-square-foot former children’s play space for a 12-show December run, said Bob Blumberg of BlumbergExcelsior, Inc., owners of the building since 1968. The theater company negotiated on Tuesday a $6,000 month-long lease for the space, formerly home to Sydney’s Playground, which he noted equaled a third of the property’s market-rate rent.
“We like to see them prosper,” Blumberg said of the markdown, “particularly in Tribeca.”
The Soho Rep needed the non-traditional space for the “amateur dinner theater” performance, which filters 100 hours of recorded telephone conversations over the conceptual four-hour show.
“The main thing we were looking for in the space was character,” said Rep artistic director Sarah Benson. “It really captured the spirit of the show.”
The performance, titled “No Dice,” will run from Dec. 6 through 31, playing Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Roxanne Betesh of Sinvin Realty represented both the landlord and tenant in the deal.
Bowery biz district
The Noho NY Business Improvement District has begun reaching out to retailers on the Bowery in a bid to expand eastward to include the historic boulevard.
Harriet Fields, the Noho BID’s executive director, said the 12-year-old organization put out flyers in the area seeking feedback on the proposal, which would allow the formerly rundown stretch to access cleaning and sanitation services and other amenities provided to BID members.
Fields said Noho’s proximity to the avenue as well as recent business growth along the stretch necessitated the move, which she noted is still in the preliminary stages. The Bowery’s possible inclusion in the BID would mean the “progression of making things look better” and promotion of the area’s “economic and cultural vitality,” Fields said. She acknowledged that many stores currently sit empty along the Bowery but that “eventually it’s going to turn itself around.”
“I’m very excited about it,” Fields added. “We’re going to do good.”
mixeduse@communitymediallc.com
