It looks like we’re in 2013 all over again.
Sotheby’s, which back then was searching for a new location and trying to sell its 1334 York Ave. headquarters, is once again seeking a new space through Peter Riguardi of JLL.
Three years ago, we wrote about relocation possibilities that included: the Time Warner Center studio spaces and office, the Sony Wonder Technology Lab space at 550 Madison, the Trump Organization’s Niketown at 6 W. 57th St., and, of course, even Hudson Yards, which was then just a hole in the ground.
Now, all of those are still viable options for Sotheby’s as Time Warner nears its move; the new owners, Saudi Arabia-based Olayan Group, will lease 550 Madison for offices; Nike is back seeking a new flagship; and, Hudson Yards has its first tower open.
We hear Hudson Yards’ lead developer, the Related Cos. Chairman Stephen Ross, is also making a big play to snag Sotheby’s.
Ross now owns Time Warner’s Columbus Circle offices and studios, which will be vacant when they move to his Hudson Yards project, giving him two scenarios in which to land Sotheby’s.
Since Ross enjoys taking over other people’s properties once they rent or buy from him, don’t be surprised if he ends up with Sotheby’s current building.
Back in 2013, Sotheby’s 490,000 square feet, which included the high-ceiling auction area of 227,000 square feet, was being offered for sale by Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies at Eastdil Secured. It could not be learned whether they will now be handling a sale once a new site has been identified.
Because of market and board issues, Sotheby’s never moved. Today, a new CEO is trying to keep business booming. And the board issues? They are so 2013.
Those who we reached had no comment. Stay tuned.
Director David Lynch’s eponymous foundation is leasing 14,113 square feet at 228 E. 45th St., where it is expanding down the block from its current 10,500 square feet at 216 E. 45th St.
Robert Taylor of Colliers International represented the tenant. The David Lynch Foundation focuses on helping people reduce stress through methods such as transcendental meditation. It was founded in 2005 by the director, who is known for the quirky TV series “Twin Peaks” and films like “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive.”
Robert Rosenberg and Ira Fishman of EVO Real Estate Group represented the building owner, which was asking for rent of $53 per square foot.
The tony man-focused Martial Vivot Salon has signed a deal to open at a second location.
The new 1,000-square-foot men’s salon will be at 639 ½ Hudson St. in the Meatpacking District, between Gansevoort and Horatio streets.
Michael Brais of DE Commercial represented Martial Vivot while Alexandra Yanoff and Tess Jacoby of RKF represented the building owner in the 10-year deal that had an asking rent of $200 per square foot.
Proper Cloth is doubling its office/showroom to 11,822 square feet and will open later this summer on the sixth floor of 495 Broadway.
Kirill Azovtsev and Jim Wenk of JLL represented Proper Cloth in its search and seven-year sublease deal for the new space.
Marc Simon and Joel Isaacs of Isaacs and Company represented the sublandlord, Proenza, which had an asking rent in the mid-$60s per square foot.
Proper Cloth, located on the second floor of 450 Broadway, intends to create a high-end environment for its customers and expects to open this second location later this summer.
Speaking of cloth, a new co-working space dubbed Fuigo has been established just for textile designers.
Located on the entire 18,000-square-foot seventh floor of 304 Park Ave. South, it’s referred to as “Designer Disneyland” by co-founder Maury Riad.
That’s because the founders’ and investors’ $4 million has made it possible to devote a third of the space to resources and samples — think pre-internet law library — that struggling designers could not afford themselves.
“We created an ecosystem so that anything the interior designer needs can be found in this collaborative,” Riad said. “We are facilitators.”
Expected to host about 30 designers, the collaborative was founded in January by Riad and his brother, Mickey Riad, who are the co-owners of Fortuny, a family-run textile business, along with Bradley Stephens, who designed the new space.
Fuigo supplies the room, kitchen and conference areas, plus staff, business administration and computer programs “so the artists can flourish,” Maury Riad said.
While there is a fixed $1,000 monthly membership fee, since the co-working space acts as a business manager, the owners also take a cut of the designer’s project fees.
