Robin Abrams, executive vice president of Lansco, and East River Plaza
The 50,000-square-foot space in East River Plaza that Best Buy is vacating would be perfect for first time entrants into Manhattan’s retail sector, according to brokers who spoke with Real Estate Weekly. Best Buy announced this week the Harlem store would be one of 50 nationwide closings, and the only one in New York City. [more]
The Real Deal attended the opening ceremony of East River Plaza today on 116th Street (see video
above), East Harlem’s new big box retail center developed by Forest
City Ratner Companies and Blumenfeld Development Group. The more than
500,000-square-foot shopping center, where rents range from around $40
to $150 per square foot, is home to a Target, Costco, Best Buy, Old
Navy and other large retailers. The project cost approximately $400
million, according to a spokesperson for the developers. Bruce Ratner,
chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner, said that while he’s excited
about the plaza opening, he’s still cautious about development in
general. “We’re finishing all our projects, that’s what’s most
important now,” Ratner told The Real Deal following the ribbon
cutting this morning. “In the development business… there’s really
not [much of a] difference between now and six months ago.”
East Harlem’s new big-box retail shopping center, East River Plaza, officially opened today on FDR Drive, according to a press release, with Costco welcoming customers. The 500,000-square-foot center, developed through a partnership between Forest City Ratner Companies and the Blumenfeld Development group, will include a Target, Best Buy, Marshalls, PetSmart and Old Navy. Costco, which occupies a little over a fifth of the plaza’s total space, is the first tenant to open, bringing 400 new jobs to the area. Leasing at the center largely has been considered a success; according to developer Bruce Ratner, 90 percent of the retail space has been leased out. All told, the East River Plaza will create an estimated 2,000 jobs.TRD
On Nov. 12, East River Plaza, the new big-box shopping center on FDR Drive in East Harlem, will see its first store opening. The 110,000-square-foot Costco wholesale warehouse club will be the first of several big name tenants, including Target, Best Buy and Marshall’s, to welcome customers at the new shopping center. Only 30,000 square feet out of an available 485,000 square feet is left unclaimed. The six-acre shopping site, which stretches from 116th to 119th streets, was developed by David Blumenfeld, a principal with the Blumenfeld Development Group.
