Former Home Of 2nd Ave. Deli To House Dentist

A Spanish chain of storefront dentists, Vital Dent, has finalized a lease for the space that formerly housed of the Second Avenue Deli, according to real estate brokers.

The 2,800 square foot space at Second Avenue and 10th street, which was for decades home to the East Village's landmark kosher deli, will be shared by Vital Dent and an unnamed food vendor. Scaffolding is now visible as an interior renovation is underway.

"A lot of Second Avenue Deli customers come to us now and say they miss it," a manager of the Lower East Side's non-kosher Katz's Delicatessen, Charlie Delacruz, said. "Vital Dent? Well, it's over the ceiling to be in this neighborhood today. I guess that's who has the money to pay these rents."

Vital Dent has signed a short-term lease for either two or three years for $200 per square foot per month, according to the chairman of retail leasing for Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Faith Consolo.

The company is seeking to establish a visible New York presence, according to Ms. Consolo, and has opened 12 other franchises in Manhattan. Commercial rents in the East Village have been skyrocketing because of a boom in residential development, according to Ms. Consolo. "It's one of the last remaining neighborhoods that hasn't had a complete transformation," she said.

The owner of the Second Avenue Deli, Jack Lebewohl, did not renew his five-year lease in 2006, when he said he could not afford to pay $33,000 a month for the space.