NEW YORK CITY-REBNY singled out two deals for its prestigious Retail Deal of the Year award at a dinner Tuesday night. The annual affair, held at the 101 Club, honored brokers at CBRE and SCG Retail.
Chosen from numerous retail real estate transactions submitted by 17 top-notch dealmakers, the Retail Deal of the Year award for the most ingenious and creative retail deal that demonstrates exceptional broker acumen was presented to David LaPierre of CBRE for “All Aboard the Express to Times Square: Express' Journey to 1552/1560 Broadway.”
The Retail Deal of the Year award for the retail deal which is most significant in its overall characteristics and importance to the New York City Retail Market was presented to Jacqueline Klinger and Chase Welles of SCG Retail for Whole Foods Harlem, at 100 West 125th Street.
“These two coveted honors were awarded to brokers that showed their sophistication and creativity in getting these deals done,” said REBNY president Steven Spinola. “They have helped to reinvent the norm – thinking outside-the-box to overcome challenges while helping two major retailers continue to grow in New York.”
LaPierre facilitated a 30,000-square-foot, long-term lease for the new Express flagship store at 1552/1560 Broadway–one of the most significant Manhattan retail deals of 2012, according to REBNY's announcement of the award. The fashion retailer had initially signed a letter of intent for a 23,000-square-foot space at 4 Times Square in November 2011, but had grown frustrated with the pace of negotiations with a goal to open the new flagship by 2013. The only viable alternative—a combined 30,000-square-foot space in 1552 and 1560 Broadway that included four 150-foot-tall LED displays at the center of the Bowtie—was bigger and more costly than the 4 Times Square deal on the table.
LaPierre managed to bridge the multimillion-dollar difference between the two properties through a creative deal structure that included a pro forma valuation to rent out the LED displays– generating a new revenue stream for Express worth millions of dollars, the REBNY announcement said. The deal also increased the store's operating hours by three to four hours per day to take advantage of the increased foot traffic at the center of the Bowtie, potentially producing millions in additional sales. The additional two income sources eliminated the difference between the two properties making the 1552/1560 Broadway net occupancy cost lower than that of the 4 Times Square location.
For Klinger and Welles' part, they were lauded for getting Whole Foods to open one of its stores in Harlem. Following the success of its first stores in Manhattan, the grocer was seeking another site in the borough, according to the REBNY statement. After finding the prime location with large floor plates to meet the store's needs and proving that Whole Foods could operate a profitable store in the area based on demographic makeup, Klinger and Welles secured a lease in May 2012 for the space, with 12,000 square feet on the ground level and 27,000 square feet on the concourse level. With possession expected in late 2014 and an opening in 2015, this deal is expected to help draw more residents to the neighborhood, create jobs and attract the attention of many more national and local retailers.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
