Adjacent Commercial Developments Break Ground Simultaneously on East Houston Street
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Whatever period of respite the Houston Street corridor above SoHo may have enjoyed these past few years (remember the station connection project?), it’s now over. The thoroughfare has just returned to a massive construction zone thanks to a pair of simultaneous commercial developments now underway.
The gas station-to-offices complex at 300 Lafayette Street got its first boost last week with earth-moving activity and the arrival of two towering pile drivers. And let’s not forget the road-hogging assemblage of plywood, the relocation of sidewalk and bike lanes, and just overall chaos.
As previously reported, a seven-story, 80,000 square-foot office building is planned for the entire site (aka 300 Lafayette). The Porcelli family, landowner forty years running and founder of the Gaseteria chain of gas stations, is the developer of record.
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Just across Crosby Street, meanwhile, it’s roughly the same story. The city’s Economic Development Corporation ultimately sold the 6,190 square-foot parcel at 19 East Houston to Madison Capital for $26 million. Said developer, in conjunction with Vornado (recent addition as partner), is behind the six-story SoHo addition, which includes commercial office space and retail on the ground floor. The finished product will carry a total floor area of nearly 35,000 square-feet, with a third of that reserved for retail. Stores won’t be “big box,” though, thanks to a protracted fight with the community a couple years ago.
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