A new tenant has been found for 176 MacDougal Street aka 1 MacDougal Alley (and below noted as 30 W. 8th Street). It is a florist shop and event planning business, Spina, which originated in Brooklyn. This is the business’s first Manhattan outpost. When encountered pre-opening, the owners noted that they said they’d never have a retail shop but yet here they are!
You might recall that long-time tenant Hong Wah Laundromat shut down after a suspicious fire early last year. Then, there is this quote in Crain’s by William Abramson of realtor and landlord of the space, Buchbinder & Warren, stating how the rent now is double what they could have gotten there three years ago! Three years ago when the laundromat was in place, of course.
Brooklyn Florist to Blossom on West Eighth Street:
Spina De Fiori, popularly known simply as Caffe Spina in Greenpoint, is taking 975 square feet on the first and basement floors at 30 W. Eighth St., at the corner of MacDougal Street, where it will house its floral design and event-planning offices. Spina provides arrangements and plans events for some of the largest corporations in the city. The Brooklyn shop across the river will remain in business.
The five-year deal came in at $150 per square foot, which William Abramson, of Buchbinder & Warren, said is nearly double what the space might have rented for just three years ago.
“Eighth Street has been a commercial corridor in transition,” said Mr. Abramson, who represented the landlord, Return to Home, along with his colleague Matthew Olden. What was once a strip largely composed of shoe stores has been replaced by restaurants, including sushi spot Neta and a Stumptown Coffee location.
This non-stop promotion of the strip – Buchbinder & Warren owns a tremendous amount of the real estate in the area and particularly on West 8th – seems a bit crass. It’s curious that the store was identified as being on West 8th Street; perhaps the writer didn’t check and this was another way for Buchbinder & Warren to self-promote West 8th vs. MacDougal which has limited commercial availability.
There was a clothing shop in the space recently for a brief time, Mirador. And, of course, Shakespeare’s Restaurant was there up until the early 1990s.
At least the payphone remains!
Photos: Cathryn