Atlas Park first phase pre-construction complete.

The Shops at Atlas Park, New York City's soon-to-be, first-ever lifestyle retail center, has completed its first phase of pre-construction, which encompassed an initial site preparation as well as the demolition of six buildings.

Eight additional buildings will be fully demolished and three others will be partially deconstructed as part of the site's second phase of pro-construction, which will commence this January, following a final environmental and geo-technical exploration.

Plainville, Conn.-based Manafort Brothers International serves as demolition contractor for the project.

Situated in the Glendale section of Queens, New York, the 10-acre, shopper-friendly campus of specialty retail, restaurant and service-oriented businesses is slated to open in the spring of 2005.

According in Theodore M. Amenta, development director for the center's Manhanan-based developer Atco Properties & Management, "The business community and the general public are only beginning to understand the retail potential of borough locations.

"For instance, Glendale has, within a 2.5-mile radius, more income-qualified households earning over $100,000 than within a five-mile radius many of Connecticut and New York's most affluent towns--including some of Fairfield, Nassau and Westchester County's wealthiest."

Upon completion, The Shops at ATLAS Park will offer an exciting mix of men's, women's and children's apparel jewelry, shoes, fashion accessories, housewares, gourmet foods and a variety of cafes, bistros and restaurants. The retailers will be both national and local.

A 2.5-acre park (complete with birch groves, flower gardens and a fountain) designed by MPFP LLC, landscape architects of the National Tennis Center and the World Financial Center's Winter Garden, will sit at the center of this complex. Alluding to the spirit of Paris, the project also encompasses two other outdoor public areas and a marketplace area for local food merchants. Eight buildings hang retail shopping and office space will be interspersed throughout this setting.

In total, the site will feature 60 stores and restaurants comprising 275,000 square feet of space, 1,200 covered parking spaces, and 110,000 square feet of office spaces in new and renovated buildings. A 12,000 square-foot day care center is also planned.

"We are currently in talks with several marquis retailers and fine restaurants and are certain that the diverse retail mix will provide a little something for everyone," added Mr. Amenta.

A&Co., LLC, is serving as development manager and design architect on behalf of the owner. Thanhauser Esterson Kapell Architects, PC is the project architect. Desman Associates is the garage engineer and parking consultant.

Atco Properties & Management, a New York-based, full service, family owned real estate organization, is developing this retail project on the Atlas Terminals site, a property owned by The Hemmerdinger Family.