Those selected were 125th Street Equities, Janus Partner LLC and Monadnock Construction Inc. These developers will transform the former Taystee Bakery Complex and the Corn Exchange Building, both on the 125th Street commercial corridor.
The former bakery is to be re-dubbed CREATE @ Harlem Green and will function as a space that will house people from creative industries and local businesses. The new development will include 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, 90,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of retail space.
The Corn Exchange is to be redeveloped into office and retail space, with a divide of 22,000 square feet for office space and 9,000 square feet for retail.
“As a locally-based West Harlem company, we are thrilled to have been chosen to bring the community’s vision of a master-planned creative hub of commercial and high value-added manufacturing to fruition,” Scott Metzner, principal of Janus Partners LLC, stated.
Seth Pinsky, President of NYEDC said: “The development of these two sites will create hundreds of new well-paying permanent jobs in Harlem and generate millions of dollars in private investment.
“From East to West, momentum is gaining in the revitalization of Harlem, bringing new life and vibrancy to sites that for years had been vacant.”
The goal in refurbishing the two buildings on 125th Street is to make the area into one that will foster economic development and jobs.
In April, the corridor was rezoned in order to make the area stronger as a regional business district. The area has many traditional brownstones, which were protected in the rezoning process.
The area also has a tradition in the arts and entertainment sector and this too was taken into consideration during the transformation.
Editor’s notes: The site of the former Taystee Bakery Complex was sold by the EDC to Taystee Create when potential tenants pulled out.
A new building was built named the Taystee Lab Building. The 350,000-square-foot, 11-floor building topped out in 2020 and was completed in February 2022.
The LEED-certified property is the largest building in the Manhattanville Factory District and was designed to attract tenants in the life science, academic, and creative sectors.
The Corn Exchange building which was once known as the Mount Morris Bank Building was sold by the EDC to local developer Artimus in 2012 which undertook an enormous three-year effort to rebuild the structure.
The building had been damaged by a fire in 1997 and, following a partial demolition in 2009, only the ground floor remained.
Altimus brought it back to its former glory, restoring the historic facade, and upgrading the interior to modern office specifications.
As of June 2023, there was 22,500 square feet of office available to rent at the LEED-certified property including a penthouse office.
Office space at The Corn Exchange qualifies for the New York Relocation and Employment Assistance Program (REAP), which is an annual tax credit of $3,000 for twelve years per eligible employee i.e. new hires or employees relocating from below 96th Street or outside of New York City.