From left, Cobby Gorjian and Justin Gorjian; 220 St. Nicholas

The young developers Justin and Cobby Gorjian are foreclosing on a boutique Harlem condo. Having acquired the note on the property last year, the brothers — sons of Gorjian Properties founder Gideon Gorjian, a developer of 75 Wall Street — plan on taking title to the property, at 220 St. Nicholas Ave., and turning it into a rental.

The Central Harlem condo is slated to hit the foreclosure auction block November 29 with an outstanding lien of more than $12 million, according to PropertyShark.com, but the brothers, working independently of Gorjian Properties as Gorjian Real Estate Group, don’t think there will be much interest from other investors. “We don’t think the property is worth as much as we’re owed,” Justin Gorjian, 27, told The Real Deal. [more]

Harlem’s 125th Street

Long-time residents of the Lower East Side may feel they are plagued with too many bars, but in Harlem tough liquor laws may be holding the neighborhood back, according to the Wall Street Journal. Zoning in Harlem forbids the issuing full liquor licenses to businesses on the same street and within 200 feet of a house of worship or a school.

But Harlem has an estimated 200 houses of worship, according to a list by the city’s Department of Finance — thought to be the highest concentration in the city. ”It kind of seems like they have something on every corner,” Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail group, told the Journal. [more]

From left: Ariel Aufgang and a rendering of the Victoria Theater project

Danforth Development Partners has brought on architect Ariel Aufgang to handle the design of a $143 million commercial development on 125th Street in Harlem with a special emphasis on historic preservation. The 300,000-square-foot project will include two 26-story office towers, a 210-room hotel and a 230-unit apartment building above the historic Victoria Theater. But Aufgang will also be focused on restoring the theater’s original 1917 terra cotta facade and decorative lobby. [more]

A townhouse at 764 Saint Nicholas Avenue, converted to condos by Harlem Lofts.

From the September issue: In a bid to become Harlem’s largest redeveloper of townhouses, real estate services firm Harlem Lofts has acquired a local competitor. Harlem Lofts last month hired Charlie Marcus, the developer of projects such as the 11-unit Ellington condo at 111 West 117th Street. Marcus will be offered an ownership stake in the Harlem Lofts redevelopment arm, which has been renamed Harlem Property Re+Development, explained Harlem Lofts president Robb Pair.

Pair said he and Marcus have long admired each other’s work. “I would go and spy on his projects, and he would spy on mine,” Pair said. [more]

Retail center planned for 301 West 125th Street

Retail rents in Harlem are tracing the path taken by home prices and rents in the area since the boom. According to the New York Daily News, that increasingly means national chains are replacing the neighborhood’s beloved mom-and-pop businesses.

The average retail rent in the second quarter this year was $100 per foot, up 33 percent from $75 the prior-year quarter, which itself was a 50 percent increase of retail rates in 2010. Prudential Douglas Elliman Retail Chairman Faith Hope Consolo said she expected the asking rents to soon reach $175 per foot. [more]

A rendering of the Taystee Bakery redevelopment

The private developers who closed yesterday on the former Taystee Bakery Complex in west Harlem plan to break ground by next summer on a large commercial and industrial space that will house businesses from creative industries, a New York State Economic Development Corporation spokesperson told The Real Deal. Taystee Create LLC, a newly formed partnership affiliated with developer Janus Partners LLC and Monadnock Construction, are calling the redevelopment project CREATE @ Harlem Green. [more]

EDC's Seth Pinksy and the Harlem site

The city’s Economic Development Corporation is seeking ideas for how best to develop a Harlem site that could bring to the neighborhood some 85,000 square feet of residential, community and retail space.

The 13,500-square-foot site, where there is currently a BP gas station, is situated at 2040 Frederick Douglas Boulevard, at the northwest corner of Central Park. The EDC has put forth a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) for the property, which the agency hopes will be “transformed into a new residential or community facility space that could complement the existing neighborhood,” an EDC spokesperson said. [more]

509-513 East 117th Street (credit: PropertyShark)

Applebee’s, the national chain eatery, is slated to open in East Harlem this fall, which now marks a trend of national franchises opening shop in the Harlem area, New York Magazine reported. The restaurant will be located at 509-513 East 117th Street, a vacant lot just off the FDR Drive and will be LEED certified. The asking rent, taking rent and brokers were not mentioned. [more]

Strivers Row in Harlem

Manhattan Community Board 10 has devised a plan to landmark more Harlem properties in nine study areas and make development around the neighborhood more uniform, NY1 reported. It has been approved by the community board and awaits an eventual vote from the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of City Planning.

The proposal includes a range of landmark distinctions, such as “individual” landmarks based on building exteriors, interiors and scenic and historic districts, such as the extensions of Strivers Row and Mount Morris Park. [more]

The city’s Economic Development Corp. and the Empire State Development Corp. are calling for developers to turn a Harlem parking garage into an office building and cultural center, the Wall Street Journal reported. The request for proposals, slated to be issued today, will seek a developer to build 300,000 square feet of space. [more]