The Week in Review

1. Retail Space Planned for Brooklyn Jail: The city may add retail space to the ground floor of a revamped jail in downtown Brooklyn, the Daily News reported. Renderings from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill show a Trader Joe's supermarket filling the space, but officials at the city's Department of Correction said the plans were preliminary and that more meetings are planned with the community before a final decision will be made on the future of the Brooklyn House of Detention.

2. Macklowe Faces Opposition From Vornado: Developer Harry Macklowe was served a notice of default on Monday as he attempted to negotiate more than $7 billion in loans that he used last year to buy seven high-profile commercial buildings, The New York Sun reported. One major stumbling block for Mr. Macklowe is the ownership of part of the debt by one of his chief competitors, Vornado Realty, which may be seeking to use its position to take over the buildings or make a financial gain. Bids for the signature General Motors Building are due tomorrow.

3. New Retail Sought for Seedy Times Square Strip: The Times Square Alliance is trying to woo "distinctive stores and restaurants" to a stretch of Eighth Avenue that has yet to shake its reputation as the home of peep shows and seedy video rental stores, the New York Times reported. New buildings are rising along Eighth Avenue between 40th and 53rd streets, and officials from the alliance are trying to lure attractive retail outlets for the ground-floor spaces.

4. A $65.6 Million Apartment Spending Spree: The millionaire industrialist Ira Rennert bought two apartments on a venerable stretch of Park Avenue for his daughters, the New York Observer reported. He acquired a duplex at 740 Park Ave. for daughter Tamara Winn and her husband for $32 million from the estate of heiress Janet Coleman. For Yonina Davidson and her husband, Mr. Rennert bought a 14-room apartment at 778 Park Ave. for $33.6 million from designer Vera Wang.

5. Ledger's Apartment Back on the Market: Two weeks after actor Heath Ledger died, his fourth-floor loft at 421 Broome St. was back on the market, the New York Post reported. The 4,400-square-foot apartment, which the Australian actor began renting in September, has three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, an office, laundry room, kitchen, and balcony. It also has 15-foot ceilings, cast-iron columns, and a wood-burning fireplace. The newspaper reported that it was being offered for $25,000 a month.

bhope@nysun.com