Eastern Mountain Sports is climbing into a nearly 13,000 square foot duplex retail space in the Laureate condominium on the southeast corner of Broadway and West 76th Street. The store will open next fall at 2150 Broadway in 4,100 square feet at the street level and 8,700 square feet on the second floor. The asking rent was $350 and $125 per foot respectively.

“It’s a beautiful building, and we had a number of national apparel tenants looking,” said Steven Baker, the new president of Winick Realty Group who represented the condo developer, Stahl Organization, in the deal.

Brian Katz, president of Katz & Associates, represented Eastern Mountain Sports in this transaction that installs them into a never-before-occupied spot. EMS recently leased in SoHo, as well, and the Peterborough, NH-based company expects to continue its expansion in the northeast.

Giving Paragon Sports a run for the business, the Upper West Side also has another new sporting goods company nearby, as Modell’s has leased in the Harrison at West 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue while REI is building out its own sports enclave at the Puck Building on the edge of SoHo.

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The building at 15 West 26th Street was not sold as was printed and pictured in the Commercial Real Estate Special last Thursday. “[My] building is not for sale, but if someone comes along with $33 million — they say everything has its price,” laughed Steven Novak, president, Mesa Realty Associates and the owner of 15 W. 26 St.

That 12-story loft building is 100 percent occupied with a couple of residential tenants and a mix of commercial office tenants. “We’ve had it for 30 years and enjoyed watching the neighborhood evolve,” said Novak of his family’s building.

The office property that was actually sold for $33 million through Douglas Harmon of Eastdil Secured was the 150,000-square-foot office portion of a condo conversion just a block away at 15 East 26th Street that was purchased by Angelo Gordon & Co., Belvedere Capital, Metropolitan Realty Associates and a group led by David Berley of Walter & Samuels.

We can now reveal that under its new regime bridal queen Vera Wang just signed a 12-year lease for two floors at 15 East 26th Street totaling 39,000 square feet for her corporate headquarters. The spaces on the fourth and fifth floors overlook Madison Square Park. She is currently at 225 W. 39 St.

Harve Schuster of Walter & Samuels and Glenn H. Isaacson of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant, while James S. Gladstone, also of Walter & Samuels, which manages the commercial office building, represented the ownership group.

Back in December, developer Robert Gladstone‘s Madison Equities bought the development site at 140 Sixth Ave., aka 72 Sullivan St., for $20.25 million.

Other real estate sources tell us Los Angeles-based CIM Group is partners in this deal. CIM, as you know, has made many recent investments in the city including Harry Macklowe‘s Drake Hotel site, the Trump Soho, William Beaver House and 11 Madison Ave.

Although an old “stop work” order is attached to what is now an “obsolete” Department of Buildings record, the Sixth Avenue site once had approved plans for a 20-story hotel with an art studio, trade school and retail at its base. All of that could be scrapped. In 2008, the former gas station changed hands for $33.5 million but nothing was ever developed.

Neither Gladstone nor CIM’s rep called back with a comment.

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The loan on the Carlton Hotel at 88 Madison Ave. is the latest to be transferred to special servicing, a new report shows. The original loan of $100 million is down to $98.65 million and does not mature until Sept. 11, 2016.

A source at the hotel said: “The hotel is current in all respects on the mortgage, and hotel operations continue as usual.”

Don’t confuse this NoMad area hotel with the former Helmsley Carlton House on Upper Madison that is being converted by Extell and Angelo Gordon & Co.

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The long awaited American Media lease for 4 New York Plaza for 100,000 square feet on the second and fourth floors finally became official as the letter of credit was received by Harbor Group International. David Pecker‘s AMI reorganized under Chapter 11, allowing them to complete this deal.

Brad Gerla and Howard Fiddle of CB Richard Ellis have one 50,000- square-foot- floor remaining, and have received some interest in it, including from other media companies, Gerla said. The asking rent is $32 a foot.

Rob Stillman led the CB Richard Ellis team that then included Alan Desino and Jimmy Emden both of whom are now at Colliers.

The Harbor Group also bought 1412 Broadway for $152.5 million last month, or $360 a square foot, from Murray Hill Properties. “We have some potential tenants and are getting ready to embark on some improvements,” Jordan Slone, CEO of Harbor Group, said.

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Designer Lou Switzer is moving The Switzer Group to the entire seventh floor of 14,500 square feet at 3 E. 54 St. just steps off Fifth Avenue. The asking rent for the 10-year deal at the Charles S. Cohen-owned building was in the low $50s a square foot. Switzer will relocate from 535 Fifth Ave. this spring.

Stuart Romanoff of Cushman & Wakefield represented The Switzer Group while the C&W team of Bruce Mosler, Arthur Mirante and David Glassman along with David Nevins of Cohen Brothers represented the ownership. [email protected]