Garment District Getting Sportier as Squash Center Moves In

NEW YORK CITY—The Squash Center has found a match at 25 W. 39th St., renting 13,400 square feet from the building’s owner, Thor Equities. The private, not-for-profit club will occupy the entire fifth floor, 13,400 square feet under a 15-year lease. The asking rent was $65 per square foot.

Scheduled to open in early 2019, the Squash Center will offer amateur training and recreational play for adults, and programs for teenagers and children.

“We are pleased to welcome the Squash Center to 25 West 39th St., a majestic building located just steps from Bryant Park in the Garment District, an area that is continuing to evolve into a vibrant 24/7 destination,” says Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, which is also located on-site in the building. The open area with expansive column spaces and ceiling heights of 20 feet scored winning points for the dimensions required for game courts.

Some of the other tenants include Spark Labs, Halston, Movado, Seven for All Mankind and VF Jeanswear.

Opening in 1907 as the Engineering Societies’ Building, the property was constructed with a $1.5 million gift from Andrew Carnegie. It featured a 1,000-seat auditorium and one of the largest engineering libraries in the world, where Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla came to check out books. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Engineering Societies left in 1961, and the building was converted to offices.

Thor Equities purchased the 208,000 square-foot, 18-story building in December 2006 from Crown Acquisitions for $105 million. Crown had acquired the building from Tommy Hilfiger for $53 million in November 2005. The property’s sales history was recorded in Real Capital Analytics.

Avison Young’s Arthur Mirante, John Ryan and Patrick Steffens represented the landlord with Jonathan Scheinberg of Thor Equities.  JLL’s Ellen Herman and Allison Buck represented the Squash Center.