[Update: Rendering of the mall has been removed due to the request of its author]
In December 2012, we informed you that a “grittier Chelsea market” or an independent mall seemed to be coming to Bogart Street. Brokers Massey Knakal were selected to exclusively market the space and mentioned Urban Outfitters or Guitar Center among potential tenants of the mall. While little seems to be going on at the warehouse on 74-92 Bogart Street at the moment, the Massay Knakal’s new marketing brochure offers a hint of things to come to Bushwick when the mall opens, tentatively scheduled for the end of 2013 or early 2014.
Bushwick’s largest retail development project consists of the entire city block of space and is bordered by Bogart Street, Ingraham Street, Harrison Place and Morgan Avenue. The ground floor takes up 80,000 square feet, and the proposed second floor will be equally large. The rendering of the proposed look of the property (above) suggests that the landscape of Bushwick will significantly change visually, and likely socio-economically as well. “The rendering is not final; it’s just a proposal at this point to help us market the property,” Andrew Clemens, director of leasing at Massey Knakal, told us on the phone today. Mr. Clemens declined to tell us the names of the tenants who already signed their leases but said that there is a significant interest in the property from several hotel developers.
The marketing brochure states that “the development plans to cater to unmet retail needs of the dense residential population in the area while remaining sensitive to the local culture that has made Bushwick so unique.” So now the question is whether the existing population of Bushwick truly has unmet retail needs, especially with the median household income of $34,236 per year and 30.3% poverty rate, we are not so sure (data from 2007/09 American Community Survey).