July 2019 New York New Developments

Major Developments:

The top office leases made up more square footage than last month. The top 10 totaled 1.7 million square feet, up from 1.5 million square feet the previous month.

1. EmblemHealth renewed its 15-year lease for 440,000 square feet of space at 55 Water Street. The landlord is the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
2. New York City Human Resources Administration renewed its 10-year lease for 342,496 square feet of space at 250 Livingston Street. The Department of Environmental Protection will also occupy the entire eighth floor as part of the lease. The landlord is Clipper Equity.
3. Colgate-Palmolive Company renewed its lease for 241,657 square feet of space at 300 Park Avenue. Tishman Speyer is the landlord.
4. WeWork signed a lease for 212,387 square feet of space at 620 Sixth Avenue. The landlord is RXR Realty.
5. Zeta Charter Schools signed a lease for 98,000 square feet of space at 425 Westchester Avenue.
6. Rent the Runway signed a lease for 83,051 square feet of space at 10 Jay Street. The building is a warehouse that was newly converted to an office building. The landlord is Glacier Global Partners.
7. Knotel expanded its lease for 80,650 square feet at 110 William Street. The new lease brings its total presence to around 117,000 square feet. The landlords are Savanna and KBS Capital Advisors.
8. Skidmore Owings & Merrill signed a lease for 80,000 square feet of space at 7 World Trade Center. Silverstein Properties is the landlord.
9. WeWork signed a lease for 67,858 square feet of space at 419 Park Avenue South. The landlord is Walter & Samuels.
10. Microsoft signed a lease for 63,346 square feet of space at 300 Lafayette Street. The landlords are Nightingale Properties and WCP Investments.

All together, the top 10 retail lease deals totaled less than last month in terms of square footage, falling for the second month in a row. The top 10 retail leases last month totaled 103,500 square feet, down from 178,200 square feet the previous month. Retail leasing is down sharply from the previous months last year of 165,000 square feet.

1. Target signed a 15-year lease for 23,700 square feet on two floors at 600 West 181st Street. The new store is to open in 2020. The building’s landlord is Maverick Management Corporation.
2. Total Care Pharmacy RX signed a 15-year lease for 18,500 square feet of space at 223-10 Union Turnpike in Queens. The space was previously occupied by a 99 cent store. The landlord is Gabrielli Irrevocable Trust.
3. Particle Ink signed a 10-year lease for 11,500 square feet of space across all four floors of 771 Ninth Avenue. The landlord is Ben Braka.
4. Corner Table Restaurants signed a lease for 11,000 square feet of space at 1201 Broadway. The landlord is Williams Equities. The new restaurant is to open in 2020.
5. Republic Bank signed a 15-year lease for 7,748 square feet of space at 90 Fifth Avenue. RFR Realty is the landlord.
6. Oiji signed a lease for 7,423 square feet of space at 11 West 19th Street. The landlord is Block Buildings.
7. Alexander McQueen signed a lease for 6,600 square feet of space across two floors at 71 Greene Street. The building’s landlord is 69-73 Greene Street Owner.
8. PeekABooo signed a 10-year lease for 6,000 square feet of space at 47-09 34th Avenue. The landlord is AYC Properties.
9. Dim Sum Palace Group signed a lease for 6,000 square feet of space at 28 West 56th Street. The landlord is Coinvest Instrument.
10. Doors & More signed a lease for 5,000 square feet of space at 2004 McDonald Avenue. The landlord is LASM Properties.

175 Fifth Avenue is getting a facelift as it seeks a new anchor tenant. Owners GFP Real Estate and the Sorgente Group are planning to spend between $60 million and $80 million to upgrade the 117-year old landmark.

Forever 21 is another retailer attempting to fend off the woes of the retail industry. While co-founder Do Won Chang wants to keep the company’s ownership intact, some breakaway executives have approached the retailer’s landlords, including Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group, for investment in the company.

Chinese investment in New York is now less than the Canadians, the Germans and the Dutch in terms of foreign investors in the city. Firms are also looking to sell their overseas properties to acquire cash, as the Chinese government cracks down on shadow banking and outbound investments.

Facebook may be in talks to lease a 1 million-square-foot office space at 50 Hudson Yards. The office developers of the commercial tower are considering pushing aside a deal with law firm Debevoise & Plimpton for 450,000 square feet.

The E-cigarette maker Juul Labs, singed a new office at One Soho Square office redevelopment for more than 54,000 square feet in the building. Asking rent for the space was $125 per square foot.

MCR Development has refinanced its TWA Flight Center redevelopment within John F. Kennedy International Airport for $270 million from Bank of America. The project to build the TWA Hotel cost roughly $265 million, and recently reopened with 512 hotel rooms starting at $249 per night, along with amenities including a rooftop infinity pool and 600 rotary phones.

Wharton Properties has refinanced the retail space at 747 Madison Avenue for three more years from JP Morgan Chase for the property, currently home to Givenchy and Alexander McQueen.

Lender Lynx Asset Services, which holds a $9.5 million mortgage on the property at 15 East 63rd Street. Lynx sent OlegCassini’s widow a notice of default last year. Marianne Nestor Cassini missed three monthly payments totaling $273,125. In May, Lynx accelerated the debt and demanded full payment of the remaining balance of the $9.5 million loan.

Kaplan International, signed a lease for 25,000 square feet on floors 4 and 5 of 5 Columbus Circle, also known as 1790 Broadway. The 20-story office building is owned by a partnership Spiros Milonas and John Catsmatidis. The space will be used for educational rather than administrative purposes.

OYO Hotels & Homes plans to invest $300 million in the United States over the next few years. The money will also focus on issues like infrastructure development, talent and building competency.

Ricky’s which had 29 stores at its peak will now have just two. The retailer’s remaining stores, located at 830 Broadway and 590 Broadway in Soho, each have eight years left on their leases. Ricky’s has closed nine stores so far this year.

Harry Macklowe is continuing his pursuit of a land assemblage for his Tower Fifth supertall project in Midtown. The developer is currently eyeing a four-story building at 9 East 51st, which houses the Venezuelan consulate. The developer is also in contract to purchase 14 East 52nd Street, on the other side of the block.

This year, New York City will lose 340,000 square feet of department stores. While Lord & Taylor, Henri Bendel and Saks Fifth Avenue are closed, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom are going strong. Nordstrom has been reluctant to open physical stores in Manhattan but will open its flagship at Extell Development’s Central Park Tower, just across the street from its men’s shop at 3 Columbus Circle.

Hudson’s Bay Company the Canadian parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor will close 15 of its Saks Off 5th discount stores and four Lord & Taylor locations, part of an effort to cut expenses ahead of its $1.3 billion move to take the company private.

Tishman Speyer has entered into a joint venture with Investment Management Corporation of Ontario to invest $500 million into projects in gateway cities across the United States.

Eliot Spitzer and the Related Companies’ mixed-use project at 451 10th Avenue is now to include long-term care facility dwelling units across the fifth through 12th floors. The 44-story tower will also contain about 400 apartments and an office development totaling 1.4 million square feet.

The city landmarked 828 Broadway. The decision from the Landmark Preservation Committee came even as the Strand Bookstore owners opposed the move.

Krispy Kreme announced plans for a 4,500-square-foot flagship store at 1601 Broadway.

Some restaurants are making the move to food halls, where the rent is much more reasonable. Greenwich Village Italian restaurant Dell’anima closed when it faced a 35% renewal increase, only to reopen in a West Midtown food hall.

The Four Seasons restaurateur is going to close for good. They were hoping on being able to pull in enough customers to fill their 299-seat dining room. Even on the final Saturday, the Four Seasons was open, some tables were empty,

Howard Hughes Corporation purchased at 250 Water Street For $180 million for the one-acre property which has 290,000 buildable square feet and has already expressed interest in transferring air rights to the parking lot site from other properties. The site may contain the element mercury under the asphalt, leftover from a thermometer factory that existed on the site in the 1800s. Howard Hughes has applied for a cleanup program for the site.

Vornado Realty Trust is planning one of the biggest office buildings in New York City, for 15 Penn, currently the Hotel Pennsylvania and is looking to attract technology tenants.

China Overseas Land and Investment plans to build a 31-story mixed-use project in Murray Hill at 200 East 34th Street, containing roughly 135,000 square feet. It would include 144 apartments and about 3,000 square feet of commercial space. China Overseas bought the Murray Hill site in 2017 for $75 million.

The mixed-use project located at 59 Henry Street from W & L Group will contain about 99,000 square feet, split between 57,000 square feet of residential space and 42,000 square feet of community space on the first five floors. The building will stand 19 stories tall.

A new Bronx project is to be built at 1544 Shakespeare Avenue and would contain about 95,000 square feet, split between 83,000 square feet of residential space, 9,000 square feet of commercial space and 3,000 square feet of community space. It is expected to stand seven stories and 70 feet tall with 110 residential units.

The 11-story mixed-use Bronx building at 1973 Daly Avenue, from Camber Property Group, is expected to contain about 67,000 square feet, split between 61,000 square feet of community space and 6,000 square feet of commercial space. It is to stand 11 stories and 115 feet tall with 123 residential units, all of which will be affordable.

Mayflower Business Group is planning to build a hotel located at 319 West 35th Street which would contain about 59,000 square feet and stand 25 stories tall with 166 rooms.

Ron Burkle and his partner hotelier Andrew Zobler have ended their feud to save 1170 Broadway from foreclosure. Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. agreed to buy back $40 million in mezzanine debt from Colony Capital. GDS Development may acquire the 100-plus-year-old co-op building at 417 Park Avenue for about $200 million. Under the rezoning, GDS would be able to build a 220,000-square-foot office building on the site, or more if the firm picks up neighboring properties as well.

New legislation could let the Pier 40 develop as much as 700,000 square feet of commercial office space. The new amendment would allow its owner, the Hudson River Park Trust, to enter into a lease with a developer for up to 49 years with a potential 25-year renewal. Structures could not be more than 88 feet tall, and public open space would have to make up at least 65% of the project.