A Plan to Expand the Union Square Business Improvement District

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.

Shoo Loong Kan, a Chinese hot pot restaurant will soon arrive on 13th St. in the space that old timers will fondly remember as Borgo Antico. (The name means little dragon ridge.) The chain already has locations in Chicago, Houston, and Flushing.

Here’s a look at the current state of All’Onda, the long-awaited, much anticipated Northern Italian restaurant from former Ai Fiori chef Chris Jaeckle and the legendary Chris Cannon.

Very Noisy!

What used to be the TD Bank at the corner of University and 11th will soon be a new outpost of the quickly expanding Blank Street Coffee Chain. OK, but isn’t better to support local businesses? Go to NewsBar instead.

The excellent Havana Central on East 17th (212-414-4999) has a three-course lunch from $12.95 through September.