Developers Break Ground On Massive Lab Facility In Harlem

HARLEM, NY — Developers broke ground Thursday on the latest project to convert one of West Harlem's former factory buildings into a massive mixed-use development.

Janus Property Company is building an 11-story, 350,000-square-foot development on the site of the former Taystee bread bakery that will provide office and lab space for companies in the life sciences, technology, nonprofit and academic industries, state officials said. Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony was attended by state and local representatives such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Harlem city and state legislators.

"Harlem has an incredible history and is also in the midst of an exciting renaissance, and this new building will be an important investment in the neighborhood's future," Cuomo said in a statement. "The Taystee Building will provide state-of-the-art life sciences labs and educational organizations with a home just steps from all the best sites this neighborhood has to offer."

Developers predict the building will be completed sometime in 2020. Janus Property Company recently developed the nearby 150,000-square-foot Mink Building and the 50,000-square foot Sweets Building and has dubbed the area between West 125th and West 128th streets on Amsterdam Avenue as the "Manhattanville Factory District.:

The city Economic Development Corporation sold the Taystee bread bakery site to Janus in 2011 during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration. Initial plans for the site were dubbed "CREATE @ Harlem Green" and called for a commercial building with manufacturing, office and retail space. Plans for the site changed in the following years when tenants who had been considered for the space never committed to the development.

Current plans for the site indicate the building will cater to tenants in the science and technology industries. Developers touted flexible floor plates as large as 36,000 square feet are available for future tenants at the building. The site will feature an additional 20,000 square feet of outdoor space.

"This new building addresses both the growing life science presence in West Harlem and the scarcity of available space to accommodate that growth throughout New York City. More and more, tenants are recognizing the convenience of the neighborhood, the beautiful location, historic districts, parks and riverfront and the extraordinary concentration of research and cultural groups here," Scott Metzner of Janus Property Company said in a statement.