Watchmaker Clocks in at 1407 Broadway

NEW YORK CITY-Geneva Watch Group, which produces branded timepieces under license, is moving back to the Fashion District after more than a decade in Long Island City. The company has signed a 10-year lease for a full floor of 32,359 square feet at the Lightstone Group’s 1407 Broadway.

Terms were not disclosed. Although asking rents at the 1.1-million-square-foot 1407 Broadway are $52 per square foot, leasing agent Grant Greenspan of the Kaufman Organization, tells GlobeSt.com that one factor in the watchmaker’s move back to Manhattan is that “current market conditions were in their favor.”

Moreover, Brinda Italia, Geneva’s corporate parent since last September, saw an opportunity to take space in Manhattan, says Greenspan. Geneva Watch already operates a small showroom at 390 Fifth Ave. As for the choice of 1407 Broadway, he says, “It’s an icon of the neighborhood.”