Hamptons online mag leaves Southampton’s Main Street

Hamptons.com, a lifestyle and entertainment online magazine based in Southampton, has inked a new one-year lease for 1,500 square feet in a commercial office complex at 33 Flying Point Road, with a one-year option to extend, leaving its home of five years at 38 Main Street.

The Flying Point Road premises “is a professional office suite with all the bells and whistles we needed, including security, generators and parking,” said Nicole Brewer, executive publisher of Hamptons.com.

The company’s new office is located within a 32,042-square-foot building off Route 27, owned by Lexington Plaza Associates. The direct deal was brokered by Toni Ann Warren, an agent at boutique Hamptons commercial firm Peconic Bay Realty.

Esther Paster, a principal at Peconic who did not personally negotiate the deal, declined to disclose the rents at the building but, according to Peconic’s website, available spaces at the building range from $35.24 to $45.79 per square foot. The building is 90 to 95 percent occupied, said Paster, who is also a residential agent with the Corcoran Group.

Hamptons.com’s former space at 38 Main Street hit the rental market this month for $70,000 per year. It’s listed with Robert Florio of Hamptons Realty Associates, who was also the founder of Hamptons Online, which publishes Hamptons.com.

Having its headquarters on Main Street, an exclusive address in the Hamptons, originally seemed like a good idea, Brewer said, but the company, which expanded to 10 employees from seven earlier this year, soon realized that having a prime address came with a hefty price tag and very few advantages. She would not disclose the rent on Main Street.

“It’s really retail that should be on Main Street,” she said. Tenants on the strip include clothing stores such as J.Crew, Tommy Hilfiger and Hermes as well as brokerages like Town & Country.

Paster added: “As the [publishing] industry becomes more online-based, it’s important to have a really good corporate environment. [Hamptons.com’s decision to relocate] is also good for the retail strip, which by definition should be for a shopping experience.”

Peconic, which frequently represents retail tenants on the strip, has seen an uptick in interest in space on Main Street this year.  

“We’re getting a lot of calls from brokers, even in New York, who are looking for space on behalf of national tenants,” Paster said. “The trend is shifting from pop-ups to long-term tenants who really understand the seasonality of the market.”