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Fresh development: Full-size supermarket coming to site of old Dumbo parking lot

Fresh development: Full-size supermarket coming to site of old Dumbo parking lot
Two Trees

Dumbo’s getting a one-stop grocery shop!

A Front Street parking garage will be transformed into the neighborhood’s first full-service food bazaar, a spokeswoman for the developer that owns the building announced on Thursday. And the conversion of the vehicle-storage space will finally bring a much-needed amenity to the waterfront community, said a local business advocate.

“I think this is incredible for the neighborhood,” said Alexandria Sica, head of the Dumbo Business Improvement District. “It doesn’t have a full service grocery store and this is going to be a game-changer.”

Dumbo Market — which will boast deli and butcher counters in addition to hawking fresh produce, seafood, and other basic kitchen supplies — will offer residents a slew of new pantry items to fill their carts with, according to Sica, who said locals currently just have two less-expansive grocers to choose from: the Adams Street specialty-foods store, Foragers, and the bodega-style shop, Peas and Pickles, on Washington Street.

“The market that they have planned is going to have delicious food and everything you need, so you won’t have to go elsewhere,” she said.

Honchos from the neighborhood-based real-estate company Two Trees filed plans with the Department of Buildings in February to refashion the Park Kwik garage on Front Street between Washington and Main streets into a one-floor supermarket to the tune of $2 million, according to city records.

The store will also include a bakery and sell fresh-cut flowers, according the developer’s spokeswoman, who said the builders plan to keep some of the current parking lot’s spaces in place for car-driving customers, though she could not specify exactly how many will remain.

The new grocer will be run by the family behind Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Harvest Market stores, according to the spokeswoman, who said it is set to open in early 2018.

Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 260–4577 or by e-mail at jcuba@cnglocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @julcuba.
No more parking: Workers are already converting the Park Qwik garage on Front Street between Washington and Main streets into the grocery store, which is slated to open early next year.
Community News Group / Leah Lu