Starbucks, a Gentrifying Indicator Coming to Our Neighborhoods

Learning about gentrification in academia and witnessing it in practice are completely different experiences. During the Masters, my research was focused on the conservation side of city development. As soon as I was done with the school, I moved down to Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, New York, one of the fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in Brooklyn. I was on ground witnessing the changes that happened day by day. It was really overwhelming.

With the mixture of old buildings, graffiti, and new developments, I was certainly cognizant of the uncomfortable tension between the old time residents and new incomers (like myself). And though I am part of this change, as I have been settling into the neighborhoods, I started to develop a personal attachment to the old urban fabric. Some of instantaneous developments were not very pleasant to look at. Everyday was a new day, literally.

These are the changes that happened just within 2 blocks of my apartment:

A bodega across the street turned into a juice shop
An old and long time bar turned into a dog grooming place
Old nail salon turned into a pop-up music LP store
2 Chinese take out stores closed down.
.
.
and many more

And most recently I saw the Fat Albert Store that has been a historical and cultural component building, located in the center of most dense part of Bedford Stuyvesant near the subway stop, temporarily closing down for the maintenance. I’ve never been inside but the Fat Albert store was like a small scale retail / department staple in the neighborhood.

774 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY. 2012. © PropertyShark

It recently opened up again, I was passing by the building the other and noticed a Starbucks logo, a scenery changer brand and an indicator that tell you the neighborhood is going to change drastically.



744 Broadway. Rendering Courtesy: CoStar Group

Below is a quote from Commercial Observer blog:

The coffee giant has signed a 10-year lease, according to a development representative for Starbucks Coffee, who asked to remain anonymous.

"The building at 774 Broadway is four stories and is comprised of 36,300 square feet. It has been dubbed the Fat Albert’s Warehouse for the 24,000-square-foot discount department store it houses. The store’s proprietor, Albert Srour, who has owned the building since 1986, is ready to retire, said Diana Boutross of Cushman & Wakefield, who represented both sides in the deal.... She said that the neighborhood is ripe for a Starbucks.

“We see a lot of our customers there and a lot of young professionals moving into the area,” said Boutross on behalf of Starbucks. Plus there is the hospital, she said, and “hospitals have historically been a good tenancy for us.”

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Source: Commercial Observer by BY LAUREN ELKIES SCHRAM

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This Goliath store is going to change the surroundings drastically... good or bad, I am just going to have mixed feelings for now.

Thoughts?

03/19/18 Monday