City is in process of reclaiming property after Citarella failed to fully develop site. The City’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest for the purchase, redevelopment, and rehabilitation of the former Taystee Bakery complex on West 125th and West 126th Street between Amsterdam and Morningside Avenues in West Harlem.

The 134,000 sq.ft. complex includes an occupied through-block building at 461 West 125th Street and five vacant buildings at 426 through 458 West 126th Street. EDC in 2001 selected gourmet grocer Citarella to rehabilitate the buildings. Citarella opened a grocery at the West 125th Street property, but failed to develop the remaining lots. The State Supreme Court in June 2009 awarded title back to EDC. Citarella challenged the decision and remains title holder of the property pending the outcome of the appeal.

The complex’s West 125th Street frontage is zoned for residential use and includes a commercial overlay, while the West 126th Street frontage is zoned for manufacturing uses. The surrounding neighborhood is characterized by four- to sixstory apartment buildings and high rise residential towers. Ground floor retail and second floor commercial uses are found along West 125th Street and portions of Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway. The area north of West 126th Street includes a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus garage, loft-type office buildings, and warehouse and retail space.

The Department of City Planning is currently considering a rezoning proposal comprising 90 blocks of West Harlem that includes the buildings along West 126th Street. EDC anticipates that the complex’s West 125th Street frontage will retain its current zoning and that the City will rezone the portion fronting West 126th Street to a mixed-use M1-5/R7-2 district. The rezoning proposal is expected to begin its public review in Spring 2011. Responses must be submitted to EDC by January 19, 2011.

EDC: Request for Expressions of Interest – Former Taystee Bakery (Nov. 17, 2010).