Thomas Breen photo
The now-demolished former Harold's at 19 Elm.
A New York City-based developer has knocked down the vacant former Harold’s Bridal Shop building — as it moves ahead with a long-delayed plan to build up 96 new apartments at the downtown commercial site.
That’s the latest with the half-acre property at 19 Elm St. between Orange and State Streets.
The former single-story Elm Street commercial building came down on Dec. 30, according to C.J. Otto of the Bethany-based demolition contractor Complete Environmental Services LLC and city Demolition Officer Jose Romero.
That means that the property’s new owners, affiliates of the New York City-based firm The Hakimian Organization, are one big step closer to following through on plans to redevelop the long-vacant site that for decades served as the home of the tuxedo, wedding gown, and other formalwear company Harold’s.
Harold’s closed its doors in 2015. The site’s previous owner, an affiliate of MOD Equities, won various city approvals to knock down and redevelop the property into new apartments — but never carried out those plans.
Instead, MOD flipped the property to the Hakimian Organization for $4.85 million in August. The current owner then won City Plan Commission approval in November for a modified version of a previously OK’d plan to knock down the vacant storefront and construct 96 apartments with 24 on-site parking spots in its place.
The approved plan features 96 market-rate apartments (the application predated the city’s affordability-focused inclusionary zoning law), including six four-bedroom apartments, 18 three-bedrooms, 30 two-bedrooms, 30 one-bedrooms, and 12 studios.
Looking west on Elm St. outside of the demolition site.
According to the city’s building permit database, the property’s new owner pulled a demolition permit from the city last October that gave it permission to knock down the vacant commercial building.
A representative from the Hakimian Organization did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article about what his company’s next immediate steps are as it seeks to build up 96 new apartments at the site.
Otto, the site’s demolition contractor, said that his company still needs to complete the “crushing of the concrete and cleanup” at 19 Elm. He said his company’s work demolition and cleanup work at the site should be done by the end of January.
Thomas Breen photo
The former Harold's building.
While it is a shame that no affordable units are included in this project, I’m glad to see there will be a good percentage mix of multi bedroom units in the building. Those 4, 3 and 2 bedroom units are in short supply in the city, and will enable people to have roommates, to raise children there, and have extended or multigenerational family members living with them, or have a home office or 2, which will make the units very attractive to those who are having trouble finding anything larger than a studio or 1 bedroom in the area.
I hope other developers will consider a reasonable percentage mix of bedrooms units for future projects. Millennials are starting to have children and may have elderly parents who will be moving in with them, and their housing needs will be changing.