What’s coming to new commercial plaza on Tompkins Avenue in Rosebank?
STATE ISLAND, NY – A cluster of commercial buildings rising on a section of Tompkins Avenue in Rosebank is beginning to show signs of life, promising three new single story retail spaces and a “future grocery store” on its zoning plans. Well organized and spacious, the parking lot has already been paved and marked, the construction site is well on its way to completion – but confirmation of the planned business and the planned opening is still pending. However, there is a lot of activity in the neighborhood.
“It’s nice to see retail develop in Rosebank,” said Linda Baran, President and CEO of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, referring to the North Shore revitalization that few cities have seen. “Buildings and apartments are being built just a stone’s throw away in the Bay Street Corridor, which should bring an influx of new residents. A square with shops on Tompkins Avenue will give these residents more options, and that’s a good thing. “
The project, named Tompkins Plaza at 429-439 Tompkins Ave. is right across from the Garibaldi Meucci Museum and includes decent property. The city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) noted that some permits for the site are incomplete and currently “pending”, but there are active permits for at least three separate retail stores.
The already paved and laid out Tompkins Plaza appears to be well on its way to completion. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammal)jan somma-hammel
And while the DOB doesn’t require developers to include information about the specific commercial tenant who will occupy a building in their permit applications, a recent spate of real estate advertisements for potential tenants suggests that a Dollar Tree and Lidl grocery store are occupying the space will. The German international discount chain, which operates over 11,000 stores in Europe and the US, one of which is in New Springville, did not confirm this, however, stating that it was “too early to post specific details on this particular website “.
“We look forward to continuing our expansion in New York and serving even more communities in the future,” said Chandler Ebeier, Lidl’s PR officer.
Zone diagrams show that a grocery store is planned for Tompkins Plaza, but there is no confirmation of which store is coming. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammal)jan somma-hammel
Structure Development Company, a Florida-based real estate developer, lists 435 Tompkins Ave. as part of its portfolio on its website and indicates that a four-story CubeSmart with 856 self-storage units will take up space there. And the national self-storage company, which already has four locations on Staten Island, is shown in site renderings. However, CubeSmart did not immediately respond to requests to confirm the new location.
Renderings of Tompkins Plaza show a four-story CubeSmart facility. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammal)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 grocery store on a nearby section of the thoroughfare, and Top Tomato and CVS are about a block away on neighboring Bay Street.
A dollar tree business is depicted in the Tompkins Plaza zone diagrams. (Staten Island Advance / Jan Somma-Hammal)jan somma-hammel
“The area is by no means bleak, but I think it could use a supermarket,” said Baran. “When the Chamber was doing a needs assessment of St. George, Tompkinsville, and Stapleton, it came up. There are smaller markets in the area, but improved access to fresh food and other grocery products is always a plus. A lot seems to be happening in this corner of the district right now. I think the addition of new retail space to this section of the North Shore is definitely a bonus for local residents. “