The Chetrit Group is tapping RKF to market 43,600 square feet of retail space at the former American Express Building, at 65 Broadway in the Financial District.
The century-old, 21-story office building’s retail component consists of 8,500 square feet of space on the ground floor, as well as 12,000 square feet on the lower level, 3,100 square feet on the mezzanine level and 20,000 square feet on the second floor.
Chetrit[TRData] received approval from the city to move the landmarked, neoclassical-style building’s northern entrance in order to double the total retail frontage on Broadway, to 56 feet from 28 feet previously.
RKF[TRData] said it is targeting “a varied group” of potential tenants to occupy the space, including big-box retailers, department stores, luxury brands, fitness concepts and restaurants. An RKF team led by chair and CEO Robert Futterman, senior associate Andrew Stern and associate Michael Paster is marketing the location.
Chetrit previously owned 65 Broadway[TRData], located between Rector Street and Exchange Alley, jointly with AM Property Group before buying out AM in 2014 in a transaction that valued the 350,000-square-foot building at roughly $140 million, according to Crain’s.
The Downtown Broadway retail corridor has heated up recently, with CBRE reporting that increased demand for retail space along the corridor had resulted in asking rents jumping 55 percent quarter-on-quarter at the end of last year – to $449 per square foot from $290 per square foot previously in the third quarter of 2015.
The Real Deal first reported Monday that Chetrit is abandoning the condo conversion project at the Sony building at 550 Madison and selling the office property to the Olayan Group for over $1.3 billion.