By shrinking the space of a potential restaurant at Tavern on the Green and reducing demolition costs, the city is more likely to receive a promising bid in its request for proposals for developing a new eatery at Tavern on the Green, according to the New York Post.
The 2009 RFP called for a restaurateur to develop a 30,000-square-foot space, build it out and fund necessary exterior work. This time around, the city would demolish the Crystal and Terrace rooms and a developer would be left with just 10,320 square feet of indoor space and 11,950 square feet of terrace space. Whereas the first option would cost as much as $30 million for the operator, the revised request would require something closer to $5 million.
“The city has done a wonderful job leveling the playing field,” said Glazier Group CEO Peter Glazier, who owns the Michael Jordan’s at Grand Central Terminal.
However, the Post noted that not everything is better the second time around. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation wants a restaurant without a catering hall, which would reduce the gross income to $10 million from $35 million, according to industry insiders. Moreover, the city still intends to micromanage features of the restuarant, including the menu. Finally, the new operator must still negotiate with the Hotel & Motel Trades Council over jobs figures — a task that ultimately led Dean Poll to walk away from the job after winning the bid the first time around. [Post]