Before the end of the summer, a batch of eateries in West Harlem plan to open, a culinary flowering that may induce foodies to trek north.
Three new restaurants are taking space along West 135th Street, joining other newcomers capitalizing on a revitalization taking place in West Harlem, where a planned expansion by Columbia University is expected to spur residential and commercial development.
Pete Skyllas, who purchased the 2,300-square-foot, triangle-shaped building at 701 West 135th Street approximately four years ago, has recently taken on three restaurants as tenants. Skyllas originally planned to move his plumbing business in and lease the rest of the space to other contractors, but then changed his mind.
“I started thinking that along Riverside Drive and under 12th Avenue, all the warehouses were a mirror image of the Meatpacking District,” Skyllas said. “It seemed like a good place for existing restaurants to open up another branch.”
Another thing in his favor: the lack of competition. “Aside from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, there aren’t many decent places to go to in the area,” he added.
Much of the area has long sat desolate and run down — Skyllas’ own building was a haven for drug users. Now asking retail rents in the commercial building are $66.67 per square foot.
But West Harlem could see even more drastic changes in the future if Columbia University’s 17-acre expansion, now under review by the city, is approved. The university would add to its Morningside Heights campus, extending its boundaries from 129th to 133rd streets and from Broadway to 12th Avenue. It would also add three new properties from 131st to 134th streets on the east side of Broadway.
Businesses and residents within Columbia’s prospective extended footprint fear the expansion could push many of them out. But despite opposition to the plan, brokers say residential developments and businesses will follow.
“A lot of businesses are sort of resentful” about the expansion, which may invoke the power of eminent domain to seize properties, “but it’s bringing life to a lot of dead areas and giving new businesses reason to open and create spaces,” said Elizabeth Steele, associate broker at Warburg Realty.
The city’s review process began last month on Columbia’s plan, which includes a zoning change that would allow the university to build new buildings up to 25 stories high. Construction could begin as early as next year.
Residential development already appears to be under way. There are opportunities for condo conversions on West 135th Street, where 3333 Broadway, a rental building, recently sold in a $940 million deal for a portfolio of buildings. Plans have yet to be announced for the 1,190 market-rate units sold by Ruby Schron to Urban American, which paired with City Investment Fund as a financial partner.
Transportation and recreation options are also blooming. Construction is under way at the Harlem Piers, two piers to be built on the Hudson River between St. Clair Place and West 135th Street. A small restaurant and a bike path between 135th and 145th streets along the Hudson River will eventually be added.
Skyllas is upbeat about the changes coming to West Harlem, which he says will generate traffic for his restaurant tenants, thanks to his building’s proximity to the West Side Highway, which he said will also draw customers from beyond the neighborhood.
“The area is getting even better and better. Before you couldn’t walk by the building because of the stench, but now it’s becoming a nice little destination spot,” Skyllas said. “I think it’s going to benefit the community and attract people from New Jersey and Downtown. People will travel anywhere for good service.”
The three restaurants at 701 West 135th Street will have valet parking in the back of the building as well as 40 metered spots recently allocated by the city, according to Skyllas.
Taking 6,000 square feet in 701 West 135th Street is restaurateur Erick Caceren, who plans to open Alma, a Thai-Latin fusion restaurant. Caceren also owns Latin eatery Mamajuana Caf on 247 Dyckman Street in Morningside Heights.
“I grew up in Washington Heights and the Upper West Side and saw it was an area with a lot of potential,” Caceren said.
Expected to open in early August, the eatery will have dining on the first floor and a lounge on the second. Caceren expects much of the clientele will be from Columbia University.
“We’re providing a new option,” Caceren said. “It’s sort of what happened in the Meatpacking District where a couple of people turned the area around.”
Body Bar and Grill will also open in August, taking 7,800 square feet in Skyllas’ building. Owner Rigo Herasme, who also owns Latin cuisine restaurant Sabor at 1725 Second Avenue, will offer continental Mediterranean cuisine.
“The location is up and coming. The whole area [will be transformed] in the next 10 years,” Herasme said. “It’s a good time to get in there and get established.”
Body Bar and Grill will also have roof-deck dining, though Herasme says it won’t be ready in time for this summer.
With 4,800 square feet, the third restaurant in Skyllas’ building, Covo, will serve Southern Italian cuisine, along with hamburgers and brick-oven pizza. Decorated with an old-fashioned ’50s feel, Covo will have a full bar upstairs as well as an imported brick oven/rotisserie from Italy. Covo will be the third Italian eatery by restaurateur Tony Lobruto, who now runs Max SoHa at 1274 Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem and Fragole in Brooklyn.
Last month, high-end eatery Hudson River Caf opened nearby at 697 West 133rd Street, serving seafood and boasting views of the Hudson River. The two-story, 25,000-square-foot stand-alone restaurant also has outdoor dining.
Brokers say finding more restaurant space in West Harlem is nearly impossible.
“Columbia and Fairway [supermarket] have taken most of the space in the area,” said Marlene Hartstein, associate broker and managing director at Warburg Realty. Hartstein was involved in the commercial leasing for 701 West 135th. “There is one small space for another restaurant along West 135th Street, but there really isn’t space for anything else.”