Monday, May 9th, 2011

In last week’s post about the closing of Manhattan Diner I mentioned a forthcoming post about what’s planned for the now almost desolate stretch of Broadway between 77th & 78th.

Last month (sorry, this somehow got buried under other things) DNAinfo reported that Friedland Properties filed plans with the Department of Buildings for a 20-story residential tower that would house 180 condos in 172,000+ square feet of space. The proposed building would also have nearly 19,000 square feet of retail space.

While a new condo development in the area is nothing out of the ordinary, the early rumor on the accompanying retail space might make you throw up in your mouth a little…

Tipster Stephanie wrote in to say that during a conversation with the managers of Manhattan Diner (before it closed), “they mentioned that the retail section of the new development will be a CVS from corner to corner.”

Now, it’s unclear if those guys knew what they were talking about, but I can’t imagine a more disheartening rumor than that. I’d be happier if the city announced they were putting a sewage treatment plant on that block.

UPDATE – 5/25/11: Sadly, CVS is confirmed.

As DNAinfo mentioned, the initial plans filed with DOB were not approved. While this appears to be a technicality and part of the normal process, it’s clear that it’s going to be a while before construction of anything starts. There probably won’t be any new retail space on that block until at least mid- to late-2012 (my completely unqualified guess), so here’s to hoping Friedland can come up with something a little more original than the Upper West Side’s umpteenth chain pharmacy.

Filed under: News, Openings/Closings, Real Estate, Shopping, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog 4 Comments »
Tags: Broadway, Construction, Friedland Properties, Manhattan Diner, new condo development, Upper West Side, UWS