18-story condo project to replace Gramercy hardware shop

152 East 23rd
152 East 23rd

UPDATE, 11:11 a.m., Nov. 12: An 18-story condominium building is in the works at the site of a century old hardware store in Gramercy. The New Jersey-based owner and developer, known only as LKH 23rd LLC, plans to replace 23rd Street Hardware at 152 East 23rd Street, near Lexington Avenue.

LKH bought the site in 2009 from the Vercesi family, who owned and operated the ground-floor retail space for nearly 100 years. Owner and longtime employee Surapong Pornpitaksuk had taken the reins that same year and changed the store’s name from Verseci Hardware, retaining several Verseci signs. The 5,000-square-foot shop will close at the end of the month.

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“Everything is so expensive now,” Pornpitaksuk told DNAinfo. “But if we find a good place, we might open somewhere else.” [DNAinfo] — Mark Maurer