Goodbye, P.C. Richard

ByDon

From Crain’s New York Business:

The P.C. Richard & Son store near Union Square is going the way of the cathode ray television set and VCRs.

The city’s Economic Development Corp. has announced a request for proposals to redevelop a city-owned site at 124 E. 14th St. that for the past 19 years has been home to a two-level building occupied by the electronics and appliance store.

The EDC is encouraging developers to pitch projects that include new office space for booming industries in the neighborhood, such as technology and creative businesses. According to the city’s guidelines, the development could provide fledgling companies with the space to get started and also a location for young but established firms to transition from incubator and co-working spaces that have sprouted around the city into their own digs.

Proposals may also include residential space, although a spokesman for the city said the EDC’s goal is an office-focused development. Current zoning on the site, however, would seem to encourage a residential component. About 140,000 square feet of housing can be built at the address versus about 93,00 square feet of commercial space. A project could be a blend of the two.

Midtown South has become the city’s hottest office market, with space in the vicinity of Union Square especially popular for its access to transit, shopping, restaurants and tony residential neighborhoods.

“The current site of the PC Richard store will serve as a new tech hub in Union Square, capitalizing on the academic and transit advantages offered by the neighborhood and its proximity to the Flatiron district,” said Maria Torres-Springer, president of the EDC, in a statement. “This is just one example of how we are finding creative uses for the assets we have in a city where space is harder and harder to come by.”

Bids for the property are due by February, the spokesman said, which is the same month that P.C. Richard’s lease is set to expire.

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