Harlem’s 125th St. showing commercial resurgence

Two major developments underway, a third likely project would bring first Whole Foods to area

125th Street in Harlem
125th Street in Harlem

Harlem’s 125th Street, which along with the rest of the neighborhood took a hard hit during the recession, is once again beginning to thrum with commercial activity, the New York Times reported.

Two new major retail developments are underway on what has traditionally been the area’s shopping hub. The first, a four-story 100,000-square-foot shopping center at 301 West 125th Street, located at the corner of Frederick Douglass Boulevard, will be anchored by a 30,000-square-foot Designer Shoe Warehouse. It will also house the city’s first Joe’s Crab Shack, and a health club under Equinox’s budget brand Blink.

It is being developed by the Adjmi family and Aurora Capital Associates, who in March last year partnered to develop a $40 million mixed-use development at 242 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg.

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“Retailers are seeking new neighborhoods in Manhattan where they can achieve great revenue,” Jared Epstein, a principal at Aurora, told the Times. “This is one of the last neighborhoods that has the density of foot traffic that can support their business model.”

The second development, a partnership between Grid Properties and the Gotham Organization, is a $14 million, three-story retail building at 269 West 125th Street which will house the area’s first Red Lobster restaurant. Grid’s president Drew Greenwald told the Times that the mall’s last remaining vacancy, an 11,000-square-foot space, would likely go to another restaurant. “This corner is becoming a little bit of a food hub,” he said. A third project that would bring the first Whole Foods supermarket to the area is expected to break ground this year. [NYT]Hiten Samtani