Avis Signs Lease for 305,000 SF

EAST ELMHURST, NY-Avis Rent-A- Car System Inc. leases 305,000 sf at 23-85 87th St. adjacent to LaGuardia Airport. Financial details of the transaction were not released. The property had served as the central school bus depot for Varsity Transit, a subsidiary of the Transit Alliance, which continues to own the site. Lighthouse Retail Partners LLC of Lynbrook, NY, brokered the 20-year triple net lease. Avis plans to develop the property, which includes a 47,000-sf building, as a major hub for its retail car leasing, vehicle storage and service operation.

According to Louis Sheinker, a partner in Lighthouse, the size and location of the Varsity site provided a strategic solution for Avis’ business development needs. Equally important, the transaction also enabled the Transit Alliance to realize the full market value of an underperforming asset, he adds.