Macy's
New York City’s very first “stealth” Starbucks location is set to come to the under-renovation Macy’s Herald Square flagship, New York Magazine reported. However, the opening date of the café, called Herald Square Café, has yet to be announced.
Also known as “non-branded” or “mercantile” Starbucks cafes, the adjective means the location is owned by Starbucks, but the café does not don the chain’s logo, or feature its typical product selection and interior design. [more]
Express CEO Michael Weiss and Times Square
Express has signed for a flagship space in Times Square, Columbus Business First reported, citing information from the fashion retailer’s earnings call this morning. CEO Michael Weiss declined to reveal the exact address of the flagship, but attributed the company’s downbeat expectations for the remainder of the year to costs associated with the new New York location. [more]
From left: Jeff Winick, Lori Shabtai and 3 Columbus Circle
Winick Realty has been tapped to represent 36,000 square feet of retail space available at 3 Columbus Circle on behalf of SL Green Realty and the Moinian Group, the brokerage announced yesterday on its website. The space encompasses two floors: 6,300 square feet on the first and 29,700 square feet on the second. [more]
From left: Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias of Alexico, the Alex Hotel and the Flatotel
Four months after a court ruled debtholders could foreclose on its Alex Hotel and Flatotel properties in Midtown, Alexico Group and its partners have filed for bankruptcy protection in connection with the two buildings, which have $368 million in liabilities, Bloomberg News reported (note: correction appended). The developer has $245 million of outstanding liabilities on the 272-room Flatotel at 135 West 52nd Street with lenders Rockpoint Group, Procaccianti Group and Atlas Capital Group. The partnership purchased the debt from Anglo Irish Bank two years ago. [more]
Vanderbilt Hall
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for restaurants to fill two spaces in Grand Central Terminal that have never before been available and could generate $20 million in annual revenue, according to Crain’s. One space is 12,000 square feet on the west end of Vanderbilt Hall, centered around a 2,100-square-foot space that used to be a hair salon. The restaurant would put seats in the hall itself and could extend as far back as the Times Square Shuttle passage for a takeout shop. The other space is a 5,000-square-foot balcony that is currently used for storage above the food market. [more]
Boston Properties Chairman Mort Zuckerman and 250 West 55th Street
Midtown’s first new office building in three years topped off last week and is coming closer to signing a second major tenant, the Wall Street Journal reported. Boston Properties’ forthcoming 1.1 million-square-foot tower, slated to open in 2014 at 250 West 55th Street, is being eyed by technology giant Microsoft and law firms Chadbourne & Parke, which nearly signed for space at 1 World Trade Center, and Kaye Scholer. [more]
Starwood Capital's Barry Sternlicht
JDS Development Group, the company behind the recent conversion of the Ralph Walker-designed Verizon building on West 18th Street, has purchased a majority interest in a development site formerly owned by Starwood Capital at 105 West 57th Street for $40 million, the company told The Real Deal today.
The firm is planning to break ground on a new 100,000-square-foot, mixed-use retail and luxury residential project in the spring or early summer, a spokesperson for JDS said. The project, which will rise to over 50 stories between Sixth and Seventh avenues, will feature condominium units as well as a significant retail component, the spokesperson said. [more]
693 Fifth Avenue
In its ongoing effort to land a retail tenant for the former Takashimaya building on Fifth Avenue, Thor Equities is spending another $5 million to spruce up the six-floor space, Crain’s reported. The space has been on the market for 19 months, CoStar Group data shows.
The upgrade intends to convert 2,000 square feet of lobby space into retail space and brings the total six-floor retail square footage to 44,500. When complete in September, a three-story glass facade will also be added to the building. Once a retailer is signed on, Thor will spend millions more to build out the space. [more]
From left: SJP Properties CEO Steven Pozycki, Colliers' James Emden and 11 Times Square retail
SJP Properties’ 11 Times Square has finally landed a tenant for part of its 55,000-square-foot vacant retail space. The Wall Street Journal reported that a Russian restaurant company, backed by chain Global Food International, leased 25,000 square feet on the ground floor and mezzanine. [more]
Extell Development President Gary Barnett and a rendering of the One57 penthouse
Gary Barnett has set a new record for a New York apartment sales price with the deal for a penthouse apartment at his One57. According to the New York Times, an undisclosed but recognizable buyer has signed a contract, worth between $90 million and $100 million, for the 10,923-square-foot penthouse on the 89th and 90th floors of the forthcoming building. [more]
