NEW YORK CITY-As retail leasing continues to move westward in the Times Square submarket, GlobeSt.com has confirmed that Global Food International Corporation has signed on for half of the retail space at SJP Properties’ 1.1 million-square-foot spec office tower, 11 Times Square.
The world-cuisine restaurant will take two floors on the ground floor and mezzanine level of the building, amounting to 25,000 square feet total for a 21-year term, according to James Emden, a vice chairman at Colliers International, who represented the tenant on the deal. He tells GlobeSt.com that asking rents went for $500 a square foot – and was one of the most “exciting transactions” in recent years.
“It’s not only exciting for my team at Colliers International, but for Times Square,” he says, explaining that while the tenant looked at other locations in Midtown, 11 Times Square’s proximity to mass transit and other tourism destinations made it an ideal spot to set-up shop. “The way we put the team together to present it to the various ownerships before making a decision to deal with 11 Times Square, the building was a perfect match,” he adds. “It’s not only going to help the area, but it’s going to be a big plus for the leasing up of the remaining space.”
The restaurant, which will be comprised of 6,500 square feet on the ground floor and 18,000 feet on the mezzanine level, will feature an “open kitchen” layout. The location, Emden explains, was very important for the Russian-based firm, which has 54 restaurants worldwide, but with little presence in the US. “That was the driving force,” he says. “They wanted a well-known worldwide name, and they wanted to be in Times Square - the area with the Port Authority and all the traffic.”
SJP will begin build out of the company’s space this fall, with an anticipated opening in 2013. Architecture firm HLW has been tapped to conceptualize the layout.
On the office front, law firm Proskaeur Rose will anchor the skyscraper, and plans to move from its current New York offices at 1585 Broadway to take a 406,000-square-foot, 20-year lease here. Emden says GFIC’s arrival will cause other users to flock to the location as well. “It is not only wonderful for the building, but for the area because of the size of the transaction,” he says. “It is a wonderful addition.”
In a statement, Steven J. Pozycki, CEO of SJP Properties, agreed, commenting: “This new restaurant will be a welcomed addition to the neighborhood, and is highly complementary to our focus on securing world-class retail tenants that support the building’s position as Midtown Manhattan’s foremost commercial tower.”
Colliers International vice chairman James Emden, senior managing director Robert Koslow and director Dmitry Levkov represented Global Food International Corporation in the transaction, while RKF founder and chief executive Robert K. Futterman and vice president Joshua Strauss represented SJP Properties.
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