Business Services Industry

Ben & Jerry's comes to Harlem

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 4, 1991

If Architect Michael Avramides has his way -- and it looks like that's going to happen -- Harlem will have a brandnew, 1940's-style ice cream parlor, complete with a pressed tin ceiling, mahogany counter, and ceramic tile on the floor. And there will be a cow in the corner.

There has to be a cow, since this venture of Harlem entrepreneur Joseph Holland in a building he owns at 2 East 125th Street, will be the newest Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop in New York City. Michael Avramides, Architects' design for the 890-square-foot store recalls the ice cream parlors that were popular a half-century ago.

Active in designing community-based projects in Harlem and the South Bronx, Avramides was awarded the sweet commission earlier this year. His preliminary plans were part of the package submitted to the New York State Urban Development Corporation, which late last month announced a $100,000 loan for the store's construction and materials.

Impressed by Holland's commitment to the area and by his previous success with other projects in Harlem, the service-minded Vermont-based ice cream company has donated the franchise and made equipment available at cost.

A member of the American Institute of Architects, Avramides has successfully navigated his designs for multiple housing and school projects in disadvantaged neighborhoods through community groups and the City's complex approval channels. Three of them are Montessori Schools in the Bronx. Current housing projects include work for the Aquinas Housing Corporation, Morrisania Revitalization Corporation, and St. Simeon's in the Bronx; the Black United Fund in Harlem; and the Youth Action and Jeffersonville Homesteaders in East Harlem.

The Harlem Ben & Jerry's is owned and will be operated by the not-for-profit HARKhomes, an organization that provides housing and work for the homeless. Holland, who is founder and executive director of HARKhomes, explains that "Uptown projects wouldn't be possible without downtown professionals like Michael. He really is a holistic architect."