Iconic Downtown Art Supply Store Imperiled by Sale

(screenshot via Massey Knakal Realty)

The building at 304–306 Canal Street, known for housing the Pearl Paint emporium, has been listed for sale and lease and may close, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York reported yesterday. In that report, an anonymous tipster cites an employee who alleges that Pearl “will be closing its Canal Street store soon,” presumably due to the terms under which the structure is being offered on the market by Massey Knakal Realty. The $15,000,000 listing, which states that “the space can be delivered vacant,” touts a number of potential uses for the building: “Due to the sizable floor plates, phenomenal location for retail (Canal) and residential (Lispenard), the building offers a great opportunity for a developer, investor and/or user.” A page on the informational documents supporting the lease advertises the opportunity to “join neighborhood retailers” such as Subway, Chase, 7-11, and McDonald’s.

(screenshot via Massey Knakal Realty)

An employee at the store told Hyperallergic that he had not been briefed on the matter and directed queries to the corporate office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Calls to the office went unanswered.

The sale would not appear to affect the fate of the parent company, though it prominently advertises the location on its About page. The possible loss of the popular downtown outpost, which has been in operation for seven decades, would follow another major change in the art supplies sector: Blick’s acquisition of Utrecht last year.