Despite the recent four-alarm fire at the $820-million AOL Time Warner Center, construction is still moving forward and the retail shops stand firm with a fall 2003 opening date, according to brokers on at least two new retail leases at the Columbus Circle property. Madison HGCD recently closed on a 26,000-sf deal for Borders Books and Music at the site and Cushman & Wakefield brokered a 9,581-sf lease for international apparel retailer 4YOU.
The new Borders, located on the center's second floor, will feature a Dean & Deluca gourmet coffee and specialty food shop--much like it's soon-to-open flagship store Downtown at 100 Broadway, which is slated to open this spring. Ginny Pittarelli of HGCD brokered the long-term deal for Borders at AOL.
The 4YOU space is set on one of the upper levels of AOL Time Warner's urban mall. It's the second largest international apparel lease inked in the complex; JCrew currently holds the most apparel space with a two-floor, 10,285-sf lease. The new location will mark 4YOU's first in New York City, and the store will be operating under a license agreement with Elizabeth Hazen.
While terms of the 10-year deal were undisclosed, Alan Napack, director of C&W Retail, tells GlobeSt.com that upper-level retail rents are averaging about $100 per sf. Totaling more than 364,000 sf, the shopping component at AOL Time Warner is nearly fully leased with only about 32,000 sf still available.
Also making its debut in Manhattan is Eckerd, which is opening its first drugstore in the city. Located on the ground level of Four World Financial Center, the new 9,000-sf store is utilizing never-before leased space.
The 10-year deal was arranged for Eckerd by Esther Bukai of Ripco Real Estate. Brookfield Properties was represented by its vice president of leasing Ed Hogan.
Separately, Brookfield reported the renewal of two additional leases at WFC. Hallmark Gold Crown and the Kodak Colortek Image Store, both closed following Sept. 11, are rebuilding new shops at the site with a combined 4,500 sf. The dual 10-year leases are set to open by the end of next month.
A bit farther uptown, Villa Chauvin Salon inked a deal for 1,000 sf at 249 West 23rd St., on the ground floor of the mixed-use Chelsea Gardens development. The 10-year lease, valued at about $100 per sf, is part of an overall repositioning process for the complex's retail component, which currently consists of 10 outdated stores, says Faith Hope Consolo, vice chairman of Garrick-Aug Worldwide, who along with managing director Joseph A. Aquino and leasing consultant Jason Pacilli arranged the lease.
"We're bringing the retail up a notch," Consolo tells GlobeSt.com, adding that the new hair salon with be located in space previously occupied by a video store.
Midtown is seeing its fair share of activity as well. Popcorn Indiana is moving into its new space at 1592 Broadway, which is slated to open this June. The 700-sf Times Square address, set on the corner of West 48th St. across from the newly opened Hershey's shop, will serve as the specialty popcorn retailer's flagship. It marks the chain's second Manhattan location--the first, at 76th St. and Broadway, opened in October 2002.
Gary Trock of Insignia/ESG's retail group negotiated the 10-year lease for Popcorn Indiana. Terms of the deal were undisclosed; however, a spokesperson for Insignia tells GlobeSt.com that comparable asking rents in the neighborhood run in excess of $300 per sf.
The building owner, Sherwood 48 Associates, was self represented.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
