Another Flea market gone?

Does anyone have the 411 on 688 Broadway? That is the lot that has been used as a flea market next door to Tower Records in Greenwich Village. According to the denizens of the market the owner is in negotiations who is a developer who wants to build co-ops. Rumor is the price is $15 million. The Grunt attempted to confirm this but the tenants declined to discuss it further since they were not in the best of the moods. However on a lighter note it looks like Hell's Kitchen will be getting more business.



I can’t say I am surprised since empty lots are disappearing quicker than Tara Reid’s film career.



Flea markets are considered to be transient businesses for landlords and serve as a stopgap measures till something better comes along. This is what is known in the business world as buy and hold. The fact that the flea market was there for so long indicates that the landlord was holding out for awhile and before the bubble it was more profitable to rent out the space than developing it themselves or turning it into a parking lot. The flea market appears to be on its last legs then again I was checking it out on a weekday since there was not as many booths and there was very light traffic.