Electric feel: Tesla eyes showroom at 860 Washington

Auto manufacturer's lease on 25th Street to expire next year

From left: Elon Musk in a Tesla (credit: Gas2) and rendering of 860 Washington Street (credit: James Carpenter)
From left: Elon Musk in a Tesla (credit: Gas2) and rendering of 860 Washington Street (credit: James Carpenter)

The Meatpacking District might be getting a lot more electric.

Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors is eyeing a new showroom at Romanoff Equities and Property Group Partners’ 860 Washington Street, according to insiders.

The electric car manufacturer has checked out a ground-floor, 11,000-square-foot retail space at the property, located near West 13th Street, sources told The Real Deal. The asking rent for the space is $600 per square foot, according to marketing materials.

Tesla is considering using the space, which boasts 25-foot-high ceilings and 240 feet of frontage, as both a showroom and a sales and service center, insiders said.

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The Palo Alto-based startup, which is valued at $33 billion, now occupies a ground-floor space at 511 West 25th Street in Chelsea. The lease at that location, which was Tesla’s first East Coast sales and service center, is set to expire in July, sources said.

The 114,000-square-foot property at 860 Washington is located south of the clusters of Showrooms And Dealerships Along 11th Avenue, in Chelsea and on Automobile Row in Midtown West, where Land Rover recently signed. Health-centric developer Delos Living signed on as the building’s first office tenant in October.

Chris DeCrosta of Crown Retail Services is representing Tesla in its search, while the building’s retail space is being marketed for lease by Cushman & Wakefield’s Gregory Tannor, Joanne Podell and Brandon Singer. The brokers declined to comment, as did a representative for the property.

Tesla’s other New York-area locations include the Shops at Columbus Circle in Midtown, as well as in White Plains, Mount Kisco, Manhasset, and Syosset on Long Island. Last year, the company reached a deal with the New York Automobile Dealers Association to continue selling cars in the state. The dealers had accused it of violating dealership laws that prevent direct sales to customers.