DEALS for Gucci and Hermes brought in top honors for their brokers at last night’s Retail Deal of the Year Awards celebration.
Broker Joel Isaacs of Isaacs and Company shepherded the God of Merchandising, Hermes, to 15 Broad St. to become the Deal That Most Significantly Benefits Manhattan. In a rare display of nomination cooperation, Christine Emery of The Lansco Co. now shares the award as the owner’s agent.
This pioneering transaction brought the zing of luxury to Wall Street, which has since seen some retail rents rise $200 a foot as Tiffany’s, Canali and similar competitors scramble to take their rightful spots in the Financial District.
The Most Creative Retail Deal of the Year award for the upcoming Trump Tower Gucci flagship was won by Andrew Goldberg, Stephen Siegel, Eric Gelber, and Matthew Chmielecki of CB Richard Ellis.
Donald J. Trump was thrilled that the brokers for his building were so honored. “They did a terrific job and I love them,” he said of the dealmakers behind the 46,000-foot transaction.
Trump had his eye on a nearby retailer as a possibility to fill the spaces being vacated by Asprey and Avon, both of which paid millions of dollars to Trump to void their deals.
Gucci wasn’t interested, however, as they were planning to spend about $25 million to renovate their store just a hop away down Fifth Ave. Instead, sources said, Gucci will now spend about $25 million a year in rent and either rent out or sell their building. The new digs at 725 Fifth Ave. should open next February.
The two entries were chosen out of 14 submitted to the Real Estate Board of New York. This year’s judges included Aaron Battista, Seven for all Mankind; Laurie Marco, Reiss; Tom Bowen, Callison Architecture; Mark Finkelstein, Retail Strategies; and Maryann Gilmartin, Forest City Ratner Companies.
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The Icon Group just picked up 35 multi-family buildings on the Upper East Side for about $160 million. The package consisted of 760 apartments and five retail stores. Aaron Jungreis of GFI Realty acted quietly for the long-term owners, the Klein family. “Our intention is to upgrade them and make them much nicer,” said an Icon partner who requested anonymity. “We don’t plan on converting them to condos.”
After a brief setback at 985 Park Ave. caused by an accidental blaze, Icon’s newly developed condominium there is almost ready to be turned over to the unit owners at a sell-out average of $2,350 a foot.
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Some in the real estate business are known for their patience and long-term outlook, and that’s what you’ll need for a deal for the land under the Loews movie theater at 66-72 Third Ave. on the corner of 11th St. in the East Village. That’s because the prime site opposite NYU dorms can’t be touched because of a master lease that ends in 2037.
Developer Philip Pilevsky actually holds the master lease but is required to maintain a Class A theater – unless he buys the land himself. Meanwhile, the Loew’s sublease ends in 2010 but the movie chain has four, five-year extensions.
David Schechtman, Eric Anton and Ronald Solarz of Eastern Consolidated are marketing the property, with bids in the $20 million range due in mid-July. Oddly, competition may come from Hollywood types who enjoy the idea of getting rent from a flick house.
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Crunch Fitness just signed a 10-year lease for a 16,500-foot headquarters on the entire 4th floor of 22 W. 19th St. in the Flatiron District, where it will consolidate several offices. The asking rent was in the mid-$40’s per foot.
Steve Kaufman and Barbara Raskob of the Kaufman Organization represented the building owners, while David Rosenbloom of Cushman & Wakefield brought in the tenant.
