Legal Aid Inks Expansion in the Bronx' Melrose Nabe

JRT Realty Group has arranged a 22,070-square-foot lease for the Legal Aid Society in the Bronx’ Melrose Building.

NEW YORK CITY—JRT Realty Group has arranged a 22,070-square-foot lease for the Legal Aid Society in the Melrose Building at 260 E. 161st St., in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx. The organization—which occupies 55,655 square feet within the building on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors—is expanding its presence to encompass the full seventh floor under a fifteen-year lease. The expansion is scheduled for completion next year. Ellen Israel and Greg Smith represented the building’s owner, Acadia Realty Trust, in the transaction. Craig Reicher, Chris Mansfield and Greg Maurer-Hollaender of CBRE represented the Legal Aid Society. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will open a primary care practice at The Ansonia, 2109 Broadway, at West 73rd Street, on the Upper West Side. The long-term lease was arranged by Leonard Zimmerman, Richard Rosenthal, Howard Rosen, and John Cannon of Lee & Associates NYC. Mount Sinai will take 18,500 square feet on the ground and second floors Two firms have leased a total of approximately 12,000 square feet of office space at 437 Madison Ave., where The William Kaufman Organization is the landlord. Terra-Gen has signed a five-year, 6,871 square-foot lease at the 850,000-square-foot office building, between East 49th and East 50th Streets. The company plans to relocate from 1095 Ave. of the Americas. Meanwhile, Bentham Capital is leasing 5,261 square feet in a built-to-suit office space for a 10-year term. The company is currently located at 885 Third Avenue. Michael Lenchner, VP and director of leasing at Sage Realty Corp.—the leasing and management division of WKO—represented the building’s ownership in-house in both transactions, along with a JLL leasing team of Frank Doyle, David Kleiner, Cynthia Wasserberger, Hayley Shoener and Harlan Webster.  John Fitzsimons of Cushman & Wakefield represented Terra-Gen, while Lance Korman and Brian Waterman of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented Bentham Capital.  Asking rents in the building range from $80 to $110 per square foot. JLL has completed a new, direct transaction with HUBB NYC Properties at 579 Fifth Ave. for building owner Stawski Partners. The real estate investment firm signed for 11,655 square feet at the Class A, 150,000-square-foot commercial office building. The landlord was represented by JLL’s Paul Glickman, vice chairman; Diana Biasotti, SVP; Benjamin Bass, VP and Walter Rooney, associate. The tenant was represented by Joseph Fabrizi, EVP, and Michael Affronti, senior associate, with CBRE Inc. Two long term leases—each spanning 3,944 square feet—have been arranged by the Handler Real Estate Organization at 561 Seventh Ave. Oasis Children’s Services is scheduled to occupy its new offices in the fourth quarter in a relocation from Dumbo. Jordan Brustein and Eric Zemachson of NGKF represented the tenant in the transaction. Meanwhile, financial services tech firm LiquidityBook will take the entire sixth floor in a relocation from the Penn Plaza district. Richard Selig, managing principal, and Richard Pugatch, of CBC Advisors, represented the tenant in the transaction. Thor Equities has acquired the retail co-op at 125 Greene St., in SoHo for nearly $13 million. Situated between Prince and Houston Streets, the building features more than 3,400 square feet occupied by fashion boutique Kisan. The property is the latest addition to Thor Equities’ expanding SoHo portfolio, which includes multiple properties along Greene Street, Wooster Street, Broadway, West Broadway, Broome Street and Mercer Street. Brooklyn Spirits has signed a 3,300-square-foot relocation lease at 1829 Pacific St. in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Grant Dolgin of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates represented the tenant, while Jeffrey Unger, also of KDA, represented the owner, Atlantic Properties II, in the deal. The lease marks a relocation from Brooklyn Spirit’s current lease of a comparable size at 47 Hall St. in Brooklyn; that building was sold a few months ago.