The owner of a Crown Heights parcel that houses an Associated supermarket says it plans to replace the store with a larger grocer along with affordable housing.
The pledge was made after community leaders learned that the Associated’s lease would not be renewed to clear the way for redevelopment of the site, 975 Nostrand Avenue, Bklyner reported.
Midwood Investment and Development had told the store manager that the supermarket could not stay beyond the spring. , a plan that he said predated the recent protests over the space.
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Neighbors and candidates for local office protested, arguing that without the Associated, area residents would lose access to affordable groceries. There is a Foodtown at 905-13 Franklin Avenue and a Key Food at 1232 Nostrand Avenue within walking distance.
Midwood recently provided a statement to the local news outlet, saying that the developer plans to bring a new supermarket to the site, along with a “significant amount of affordable housing.”
Official plans have yet to be filed with the city, but James Yolles, a Midwood spokesperson, said the company wants to build a mixed-use complex with retail space that would include a supermarket larger than the current store, plans that he said predated the recent dispute.
“We’ve been a member of the Crown Heights community since we bought this site in 1970 and brought an A&P to the neighborhood,” said Yolles, referring to the grocer that was later replaced by Associated. “We have remained committed to providing a home for a high-quality, affordable grocery store, and have long allowed the Associated market to pay well below market rent as we determined the future of the property.”
The site is zoned R7-1, which allows mid-rise apartment buildings. [Bklyner] — Akiko Matsuda