JACKSON HEIGHTS — The Bruson Building, which was decimated by a fire a year ago may be home to a grocery store and a bank once it reopens, the landlord said.
The Bruno Trust, which owns the building on 37th Avenue between 74th and 75th streets, is still waiting to finalize a lease with two tenants on the ground floor, but they'll most likely be a grocery store and a bank, said Craig Bruno, an owner.
"We're looking at a bank and a green grocer — those are possibilities," Bruno said, adding that the deals are "near definite."
The grocery store would go in the former Armondo's Italian Restaurant space on the corner of 75th Street, he said — and while he couldn't say which company would move in, he said it's a well-known store with homemade products and fresh produce.
The 74th Street corner would be occupied by a bank branch, although Bruno said it was too soon to say which one. The building is expected to open this summer, he said.
The building's been vacant and renovated since an overloaded power strip sparked a fire in the iconic building on April 21, 2014, displacing nonprofits, businesses and restaurants.
Neighbors have debated the building's future and what they think should go in it once it opens.
The owners of Armondo's reopened in February at the former Trieste restaurant on Northern Boulevard after 60 years in the corner space of the Bruson Building.
Bruno told DNAinfo in December he hoped to fill the building with "major chains" including banks and fast food restaurants.
