Restaurant Group Signs on for 25-Year Net Lease

NEW YORK CITY-A slice of Times Square owned by a religious organization is net leased to a restaurant group that intends to transform the now-vacant 4,500-sf site into an eatery. Locally based Massey Knakal Realty Services facilitated the arrangement for 352 West 44th St. Vice Verse Restaurant Group, also based here, will shell out $160,000 per year for 25 years, which works out to be $35.66 per sf. According to city records, the site is owned by the Missionaries of St. Charles and the Pious Society.

The two-story, 25-foot-wide commercial building is in need of large-scale renovations, according to Massey Knakal broker Christopher Brodhead, who exclusively repped the seller. The tenant was represented by Coldwell Banker Commercial. The ground floor has open space outfitted for a banquet hall with a bar area and commercial kitchen, while the upper floor is open office space.

“This was a very underutilized building owned by a religious organization,” points out Brodhead. “The owner will channel the income received from the lease to fund its good works abroad.”