628 Fifth Avenue (Tom Winter Architects)
The replacement structure of Eagle Provisions, a Polish grocery store that had served Brooklyn’s Greenwood Heights community for 75 years, is nearing completion. The six-story project, located at 628 Fifth Avenue and 18th Street, topped out its steel frame earlier this year and will open with 20 apartments, a 14-car parking garage, and retail. The project expands upon the shell of several walk-ups buildings whose upper floors sat vacant from a fire in the 1960s. According to city records, Brooklyn developers George Malafis and Ioannis Glyptis acquired the buildings in early 2015 for $7.5 million.
The local office of Tom Winter Architects (TWa) is leading the design and drafted an innocuous facade of red brick juxtaposed by grey-colored panels along its upper stories. TWa’s website says the facades of the existing 3-story brick buildings are integrated into the new design.
The local office of Tom Winter Architects (TWa) is leading the design and drafted an innocuous facade of red brick juxtaposed by grey-colored panels along its upper stories. TWa’s website says the facades of the existing 3-story brick buildings are integrated into the new design.
All renderings and photos by Tom Winter Architects
(TWa)
According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the brothers Richard and John Zawisny inherited Eagle Provisions and its buildings from their father who launched the store as the White Eagle Market in 1939. First catering to neighborhood’s Polish population, the store was stocked with foreign delicacies including kielbasa and potato pancakes. As the community shrank, the brothers adjusted the inventory to keep up with changing tastes and became known for their beer selection of more than 2,500 varieties. In 2013, the blog “Eat This New York” says, “Eagle Provisions is a special place, the kind of place you wish you had in your neighborhood.
The store closed in early 2015. The elder Zawisny cited property taxes, fees from the neighborhood business improvement district, and fines from consumer affairs as reasons for shuttering the store. “The city is making it impossible for small businesses,” he tells the Brooklyn Eagle. “They’re killing us.”
The store closed in early 2015. The elder Zawisny cited property taxes, fees from the neighborhood business improvement district, and fines from consumer affairs as reasons for shuttering the store. “The city is making it impossible for small businesses,” he tells the Brooklyn Eagle. “They’re killing us.”
The new building is on opposite end of its Fifth Avenue block from The Arron, a similarly-sized 17-unit condo that has one-bedrooms from $739K, two-bedrooms from $1.14M and 3-beds from $1.625M.
Eagle Provisions prior to demolition (Google)
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