More Spice for Your Life

• USQ-14th Street Community Forum | Monday, January 28
• Union Square Sweat Fest | Thursday, February 7 – Tuesday, February 12
• USP Annual Meeting + Networking Reception | Monday, May 6
• It’s My Park! Day | Saturday, June 1
• Summer in the Square | Every Thursday, June 13 – August 8 (closed on July 4)
• Harvest in the Square | Thursday, September 19
• Happy Pawlidays Holiday Kick-Off | Sunday, November 24
• Holiday Market by Urbanspace | Thursday, November 21 – Tuesday, December 24

Wondering what happened to the cute green building on 13th between 5th and 6th that housed Taste of Tokyo and La Dolce Vita? It’s gone. In its place will rise a small boutique hotel.

A private middle school partially funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has released renderings of its planned interior — which is slated to open near Union Square this fall.

AltSchool, a private school that uses a technology-driven approach to design individualized lesson plans for students, has started building out its new school at 90 Fifth Ave. on the corner of 14th Street.

The school, which charges about $30,000 tuition per year, revolves around a Montessori-like curriculum and bills itself as a hybrid tech company and education startup. It’s the brainchild of a team of Silicon Valley types with a long history in companies like Google, where AltSchool CEO Max Ventilla worked for more than a decade.

The new space takes up an office-building floor previously occupied by The New School. It will be divided into two main areas — each of which have a classroom and group area space, as well as a larger communal area with a small kitchenette, a lunch area, and amphitheater-style seating.

The new Hyatt Union Square at 13th and 4th is now open, as are all its restaurants.

Gothamist reports that Nordstrom is very close to signing on to take over the Virgin Megastore space to install one of its discount Nordstrom Rack stores. Sounds fine, although some bloggers would much rather have a Target there.