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27

Toren Lands Upscale Supermarket Tenant

Categories: Downtown Brooklyn, Streetlevel

toren-retail-042210.jpg
This is what Downtown Brooklyn has been waiting for! Toren, the 240-unit, SOM-designed tower at the corner of Myrtle and Flatbush Avenues has landed a retail tenant for its 11,000-square-foot retail space. The market does not have a name yet, reported Crain's, but is slated to be "upscale and eco-friendly." It will be the flagship location for a new high-end supermarket brand being launched by the Goris family, which currently has a bunch of other supermarkets in the New York City area. Presumably all the other residential developers that have sprung up in the area are cheering the news too, as it adds a major selling point (or at least plugs a major services hole) for the area. Unclear what this means for the retail plans down the block at The Andrea though. Reached on his Blackberry, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership head Joe Chan had this to say about the news: "The signing of this lease evidences the continued emergence of Downtown Brooklyn as a residential neighborhood." GMAP
Downtown Brooklyn to Get Upscale Supermarket [Crain's]
Prior Toren Coverage [Brownstoner]



By Brownstoner at April 22, 2010 9:29 AM | Comments (27)

27 Comments

By daveinbedstuy on April 22, 2010 9:32 AM

"upscale and eco-friendly" means overpriced

By Butterfly on April 22, 2010 9:44 AM

yeah really. im getting SOOOO tired of of everything having to be "upscale and eco-friendly." people do not realize that demanding all this upscale and eco-friendly crap puts downward pressure on nonupscale and regular friendly places to up their prices too.

so it's like FINE you can afford your 10 dollar yuppie tomatos and such, but because youre paying 10 dollars for those, the price of regular tomatos shoot up for the rest of us who cant afford that! okay, i know the tomato example is really really bad one, but i think you get my point.

tho, it's nice that they found a large tenant for the retail space. im sure all the demanding me me me types who live in that building will be quite happy.

sorry for my rant, but im just so tired of regular people demanding everything luxury. like seriously who do you think you are? hahah

*rob*

By LilBitOfLuck on April 22, 2010 9:44 AM

Something like Brooklyn Fare would be great.

By greenwoodgeneral on April 22, 2010 9:45 AM

Would rather live near a huge supermarket than right over one-

By Butterfly on April 22, 2010 9:48 AM

quote:
Would rather live near a huge supermarket than right over one-


why? if you live over a supermarket, all the roaches and rats will always be contained to the ground floor space. why would they have any incentive to go upstairs?

*rob*

By chrishavens on April 22, 2010 9:49 AM

TOLL was predicted in your pages to beat the other 3 to 5 condos and rentals in the area to the punch on upscale market

conventional supermarket can't pay rents today and buy/stock the things new building residents want - problem is 10,000 sf model is history in nyc -
nothing affordable and new has been invented to replace for working families -
met foods types make their money on snacks/sodas/frozen foods that what you want to support?

By bao on April 22, 2010 9:52 AM

I think it's great that it will be eco friendly, I don't care too much about the upscale part. As long as it really is eco friendly. If they are looking for local suppliers to keep the carbon foot print of the produce transportaion down, and using the space in the buidling in an condusive to the LEED guidelines and other methods to make it a sustainable store (including fair employment practices); then, I will be one of the shmucks lining up for my $10 tomato.

By wine lover on April 22, 2010 9:55 AM

rob - i agree. one of the benefits of moving to Williamsburg that i never ever considered prior to moving is the closeness to Queens and their more suburban style stores. (obv need a car tho). we have a pathmark card and go to this crazy giant, clean, well stocked Pathmark there. i'm a veteran of the C.gardens and Atlantic ctr pathmarks, but this place on northern blvd is in a whole other league.

their fruits, vegs, meats, etc... are terrific and sure that if blindfolded, no one could tell that the food was from pathmark and not whole foods or fairway.

last week got 6 huge chicken breasts for $6, 6 lamb chops with lots of meet on the bone for $10, etc...

By denton on April 22, 2010 9:58 AM

I guess bao won't be lining up for pineapple, bananas, or kiwis...

Goris owns the 'Compare' brand, not very upscale, I presume this won't be one of those.

By dirty_hipster on April 22, 2010 10:00 AM

"rob - i agree. one of the benefits of moving to Williamsburg that i never ever considered prior to moving is the closeness to Queens and their more suburban style stores. (obv need a car tho)"

yeah - but for those of us in WBurg without a car, we're stuck going to the Sunac on N7th and spending 10 bucks on milk and stale bread.

Grocery stores are good. Even tho all the buildings in DT Brooklyn have those Fresh Direct storage fridges, it's very important to have a place to go to get random stuff on a daily basis.

By Brenda from Flatbush on April 22, 2010 10:05 AM

I wonder where they'll stow all the delivery trucks for a supermarket.

By Butterfly on April 22, 2010 10:08 AM

quote:
I think it's great that it will be eco friendly, I don't care too much about the upscale part. As long as it really is eco friendly. If they are looking for local suppliers to keep the carbon foot print of the produce transportaion down, and using the space in the buidling in an condusive to the LEED guidelines and other methods to make it a sustainable store (including fair employment practices); then, I will be one of the shmucks lining up for my $10 tomato.

well, YOU are a sucker then. this is why people can get away with this crap! grrrrrr

*rob*

By Expert Textpert on April 22, 2010 10:09 AM

GREAT! Adding more traffic to the area with all the delivery trucks. They should confine incoming deliveries between 11pm to 4am.

By Butterfly on April 22, 2010 10:11 AM

quote:
I wonder where they'll stow all the delivery trucks for a supermarket.


who knows!!! all these people pining for upscale food markets are the same types of want cars and trucks to be, as someone so ridiculously put it in another thread yesterday, "phased out". what? are you gonna get your precious 25 dollar bags of rice delivered to supermarkets on bikes or something!?

*rob*

By TD on April 22, 2010 10:20 AM

In reality, the price of your 99 cent tomatoes is artificially low. The prices are based on farming that exploits the land and exploits illegal immigrant labor who are paid nothing for their work. But the Pathmark tomatoes probably don't even come from the U.S. anyway.

By denton on April 22, 2010 10:51 AM

they don't 'stow' delivery trucks, delivery trucks come and go. Most likely they'll set up a 'no standing except for commercial vehicles' zone in front.

By dirty_hipster on April 22, 2010 10:54 AM

"Most likely they'll set up a 'no standing except for commercial vehicles' zone in front."

OMG - it's like a bike lane for trucks!! NOOOO!!

By Stonergut on April 22, 2010 11:09 AM

Trucks double parking on Flatbush is a terrific idea. Double parked trucks on Myrtle is even a BETTER idea - since there's no left turn from the Manhattan bridge until you get there it ought to back up traffic back across Canal St. to Jersey City. That'll show Jeanette Sadik-Kahn.

Since you can't make turns from Flatbush in or out of Ft. Greene anymore, the obvious answer is to turn towards Queens. Anybody know of any decent eco friendly upscale supermarkets on say, Roosevelt Ave?

: P

By LilBitOfLuck on April 22, 2010 11:19 AM

I wonder how Trader Joes manages on that awfully busy thoroughfare known as Altantic Ave. At least Flatbush doesn't have sewer tours every weekend. Geezus.

By tinarina on April 22, 2010 11:41 AM

Totally agree with TD and bao. Regular supermarket food hugely benefits giant exploitive agribusiness like Tyson and ConAgra. Small farmers and immigrants are screwed, and land in the midwest and south is getting ruined from pesticides and huge animal feed lots.

So yeah, I'll pay more for food that's not part of that system. And it's unfortunate that it's out of reach for too many folks. This would change if small farmers and producers got gov't subsidies, but they largely don't. Those are saved for the big guys.

By East New York on April 22, 2010 11:47 AM


Downtown Brookly will be a cool place to live in 15-20 years, and by then residents will be fighting over who was there first.

By Stonergut on April 22, 2010 12:03 PM

LilbitOfLuck, Trader Joe's manages because YOU CAN TURN LEFT AND RIGHT FROM ATLANTIC AVE.

Sorry for shouting, but it's nearly impossible to get in or out of Fort Greene except via Flushing Ave. east-west or Washington Ave. north-south. Flatbush is a just the conduit for the major traffic pouring out of Dyker Hts, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Park Slope headed into Manhattan.

Double parked trucks at Myrtle during busy times of day will be a special nightmare.

By Sparafucile on April 22, 2010 12:37 PM

11,000 square feet is awfully small for a contemporary supermarket, which are typically at least 40,000 square feet. This sounds more like a little boutiquey market. But maybe that's what their target shoppers want.

I would think a building that big would have off-street loading somewhere. It will need it, since food stores need daily deliveries of perishables like milk, bread, and produce, and nightly garbage pickups.

By LilBitOfLuck on April 22, 2010 12:45 PM

Stoner,

How about a commercial parking zone like Denton said? How about deliveries during certain hours only. Parking on this block of Flatbush is already restricted - none during 7-10 am, or 4-7pm. At all other times of day parking is permitted, a delivery unloading carveout during those hours will reduce the number of metered spots but otherwise should not have the catastrophic impact you fear.


By Carol Gardens on April 22, 2010 2:30 PM

By the way, those are not sewer tours near Trader Joes. Those are tours of a very cool abandoned train tunnel.

http://www.brooklynrail.net/proj_aatunnel.html

By you said what 0_o on April 22, 2010 2:39 PM

There's a really tiny street behind/to the side of Toren. Its a one way which starts on flatbush but doesn't go all the way through myrtle. I'm sure i've seen door space into Toren's street level on that side while walking to my car. Maybe the deliveries will down back there. I don't see any other way.

The thought of idle delivery trucks outside my windows between midnight and 4 am doesn't sound like a good idea. Deliveries should come between business hours or late evening not when I'm asleep.

I live downtown and its a $*%#& getting groceries. I'm not a fresh direct fan (gasp!) because i like to touch, see, feel, and smell stuff before i pay for it. Hopefully this works out.

By friend_or_foe on April 22, 2010 3:18 PM

nattering nabobs of negativism
haters
comemierdas

which one are you?

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