Chocolatier gobbles up 50,000 sf at Liberty View

Koppers Chocolate is leaving its Greenwich Village home of nearly 80 years after getting a sweet deal on a new location, at Liberty View Industrial Plaza in Sunset Park, for under $10 per square foot.

The chocolatier is moving its office and manufacturing facilities to a portion of Liberty View’s third floor, where it will take about 50,000 square feet. Koppers has been in the Greenwich Village area since 1937 but seized the opportunity to expand from its current 30,000-square-foot location at 39 Clarkson Street.

As part of the move, the company is selling the six-story building that it has owned and occupied for decades, according to Crain’s. Koppers is also benefitting from incentives it received as part of the move, including a $556,000 jobs program tax credit from the Empire State Development Corp., and a $3,000 tax credit per employee from the city’s REAP program.

Factoring in the incentives, the company’s rent at Liberty View will be less than $10 per square foot. Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank handles leasing at the Sunset Park complex on behalf of owner Salmar Properties.

Saks announced in May that it is opening a 30,000-square-foot outlet store at Liberty View, while Bed Bath & Beyond inked a lease for more than 100,000 square feet of retail space. [Crain’s] – Rey Mashayekhi