NEW YORK CITY—The retail space along the mixed-use corridor that makes up the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District, spanning West 67th to West 82nd Streets, is officially 100 percent leased.
The leasing of 446 Columbus Avenue to a soon-to-be-named Italian restaurant was the last availability on the strip. Among the other spaces that have been leased are 240 Columbus Avenue (71st Street), formerly Victor’s and Penang restaurants, currently under construction as Café Tallulah; and a three-story shop also featuring a large interior space at 309 Columbus Avenue, which has been leased to The Paper Source, following the closing of Therapie.
Other former vacancies along the avenue: 451 Columbus Avenue, now Rubicon Property; 392 Columbus Avenue, formerly Ducale and now Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf; 380 Columbus Avenue, formerly P&G Bar and now 78 Below; 313 Columbus Avenue, the former Michale Golan which will again be a jewelry store; 311 Columbus Avenue where Oska has replaced Emmelle; 261 Columbus Avenue (aka 53 West 72nd Street), which is slated for the Dakota Bar, to be run by veteran Columbus Avenue Wine & Roses partner Jennifer Klein; and lastly, Modern Martial Arts at 103 West 73rd Street at Columbus Avenue, formerly a laundry.
“The Columbus Avenue BID is fortunate to be located entirely within the Historic District, which accounts for its low-rise architecture and Old World-style corridor," said Barbara Adler, executive director of the BID. "However, we are very worried about the consequences of the upcoming legislation, which will further restrict property owners and businesses along Columbus Avenue that are already protected by the Landmark Preservation Commission. We don’t believe we should have been grouped with this legislation in the first place, as Columbus is very different from Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway."
The proposal to restrict the size of the retail frontage encompasses Columbus Avenue, from 72nd to 87th Streets, Amsterdam Avenue from 72nd to 110th Streets and Broadway from 72nd to 110th Streets.