Zara to launch FiDi outpost

Spanish fashion chain Zara has inked a deal for a tri-level space on the corner across from a newly revamped Fulton Transit Center.

The clothier has signed on for a 15-year lease of the 30,000 square feet of space in the office building, which is owned by an L&L Holding Co. affiliate along with Beacon Capital.

As part of the deal, the landlords are revamping a facade that was formerly obstructed by an overhang. The wraparound storefront, which will now be more easily visible to strollers, will stretch over 264 feet. Asking rents were reportedly $500 per square foot on the ground floor, $125 per square foot on the second and $50 per square foot in the basement.

C&W’s Bradley Mendelson and Alan Schmerzler were the landlord’s agents, with L&L leasing director David Berkey also acting for the ownership.

The popular retailer’s move to the Financial District is the latest in a string of high-profile relocations, with Urban Outfitters building a store two blocks from the new Zara outpost and several other high-end tenants inking deals for space in Brookfield Place.

Regarding the choice to stand alone as a flagship rather than join Italian menswear store Ermenegildo Zegna, Burberry and Michael Kors at Brookfield Place, Mendelson told the post that “we believed Zara’s flagship store format would be better suited to a strong Broadway street location, as opposed to the more mall-like environments of Brookfield Place or World Trade Center retail.” [NYP] — Julie Strickland