SOUTH SHORE — A promised grocery store for the former Dominick’s location in Jeffrey Plaza has pulled out, but a fitness center might be poised to move in as the owner debates breaking up the space.
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) said Monday that a physical fitness group was now interested in half of the former Dominick’s in the Jeffery Plaza, 2101 E. 71st St.
“What we’re going to see is the space will probably be broken down into two,” Hairston said.
World Fresh Markets had seemed poised to take over all of the empty grocery store in May, when Dominick’s lease finally ended on the store it had left vacant since December 2013. But the grocer pulled out shortly after when the general manager left the project because of a family illness.
Hairston said splitting the 62,000-square-foot space into two smaller storefronts might make it more attractive to grocers who passed on the site the first time.
“We are no longer in the era of the big box,” Hairston said, citing new stores from Mariano’s and other grocers in the city that rarely top 40,000 square feet.
Vladimir Ganz, broker for the plaza with the Ascend Real Estate Advisors, said Monday he’s working on leases with several possible tenants.
“All of a sudden we’ve gotten some great interest,” Ganz said. “We’ve got some great things in the pipeline.”
Ganz would give few clues as to what those things might be.
“We’re working through letters of intent,” Ganz said, adding that negotiations were ongoing and he couldn’t yet discuss details.
The new interest has toned down efforts to sell the shopping center, which went on the market in June listed at $19.5 million.
“We have seen leases happening with the former Dominick’s space, so the efforts to sell it have been scaled back,” said Keely Polczynski, first vice president at CBRE, which is trying to sell the plaza for the owner.
She declined to say what tenants were interested in the building, citing ongoing negotiations.
A representative for the owner of the shopping center, Cannon Commercial, could not be reached for comment.
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