Warby Parker’s Soho location hits the market as part of $35M retail portfolio

Two Soho retail properties — a condominium at 121 Greene Street and a co-op at 349 West Broadway — will hit the market today asking $35 million, The Real Deal has learned. The Greene Street building, between Prince and Houston streets, houses trendy eyewear purveyor Warby Parker’s first brick-and-mortar store, which opened last week.

The tenant is signed for around ten years at the 4,000-square-foot space, as is Proenza Schouler, an upscale women’s clothing and accessories line, said David Schectman of Eastern Consolidated, who is marketing the properties alongside his colleague Lipa Lieberman.

Both leases have “programmed growth,” Schechtman said, meaning the lease stipulates rising rent over the course of the agreement, which makes sense given the ever-higher retail rents the Soho area commands.

The Broadway space is unoccupied and offers 1,200 square feet. Both are owned by Manhattan-based Yassky Properties, a residential and commercial development firm owned by Charles Yassky, according to city records.

Yassky did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The seller “wants to take advantage of favorable pricing,” in the market at the moment, Schechtman said.

The Eastern Consolidated team is open to selling the two buildings individually, but the portfolio will almost certainly bring a better price, Schechtman said. In the New York City market, demand for retail real estate is such that “there is a premium for volume,” he said.

Warby’s founders have created an inspired retail space for their haute frames, influenced by the design and feel of their neighbor, the Apple store. The build-out would be a boon to the next landlord, Schechtman said.