STATEN ISLAND, NY – A cluster of commercial buildings towering over a stretch of Tompkins Avenue in Rosebank is starting to show signs of life, promising three new single-story retail spaces and a “future grocery store” in its zoning diagrams. Tidy and expansive, its parking lot already carefully paved and marked, the construction site is well on its way to completion – but there is no confirmation yet of the shops on offer and the planned official opening. The neighborhood buzz, however, is thick.
“It’s nice to see a retail injection in Rosebank,” noted Linda Baran, President and CEO of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, referring to the revitalization of the North Shore that has taken place. continued in a few towns. “There are buildings and housing units a stone’s throw away in the Bay Street corridor, which should bring an influx of new residents. A shopping plaza on Tompkins Avenue will provide more options for these residents, and that’s a good thing.
Dubbed Tompkins Plaza and encompassing addresses from 429 to 439 Tompkins Ave., the multi-building project site is located directly across from the Garibaldi Meucci Museum and involves a decent-sized plot of land. The city’s buildings department (DOB) noted that some permits for the site are incomplete and currently “deprecated”, but there are active permits for at least three separate retail stores.
Already paved and landscaped, Tompkins Plaza appears to be well on its way to completion. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammel)jan somma-hammel
And while the DOB does not require developers to provide information in their permit applications about the specific commercial tenant that will occupy a building, a recent round of real estate listings aimed at potential tenants suggests that a Dollar Tree and Lidl grocery store will occupy the space. The German chain of international discount stores which operates more than 11,000 stores in Europe and the United States, one of which is located in New Springville, did not confirm, however, noting that it was “too early to share specific details about that particular site ”.
“We look forward to continuing our expansion in New York City and serving more communities in the future,” said Chandler Ebeier, Lidl public relations representative.
Zoning diagrams show that a grocery store is planned for Tompkins Plaza, but there is no confirmation on the upcoming store. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammel)jan somma-hammel
Structural development company, a Florida-based real estate developer, lists 435 Tompkins Ave. as part of its portfolio on its website, noting that a four-story CubeSmart containing 856 self-storage units will take up space there. And the national self-storage company, which already has four sites on Staten Island, is featured in the site’s renderings. CubeSmart, however, did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation of the new location.
The renderings from Tompkins Plaza represent a four-story CubeSmart installation. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammel)jan somma-hammel
The area is not devoid of shops and self-storage: Family Dollar, Stop and Stor, and American Self Storage all currently have active locations on the 300 block of Tompkins Avenue. There’s also a Phil-Am Food Mart and Market Fresh Supermarket on a nearby stretch of the thoroughfare, and Top Tomato and CVS are located about a block away on nearby Bay Street.
A Dollar Tree store is shown on the zoning diagrams for Tompkins Plaza. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammel)jan somma-hammel
“The area is by no means desolate, but I think it could use a supermarket,” Baran said. “When the House did a needs assessment for St. George, Tompkinsville and Stapleton, this was something that came up. There are smaller markets in the area, but increased access to fresh food and other groceries is always a plus. There seems to be a lot of development in this part of the borough at the moment. I think the introduction of new retail spaces in this section of the North Shore is definitely a plus for residents of the region.