From left: Amira Yunis and Matthew Krell of CBRE and 414 West 14th Street (credit: PropertyShark)

In another sign that the Meatpacking District is shifting towards the mainstream — and away from its haute couture reputation — the outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia signed a lease last month for ground-floor and lower-level space in a commercial building owned by Sitt Asset Management and the Carlyle Group. [more]

As part of their record-breaking mobster roundup last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation charged a member of the Gambino crime family with shaking down real estate investment firm Sitt Asset Management. According to the Post, the alleged mobster, Anthony Scibelli, was released on $2 million bail yesterday after being indicted on charges of racketeering and extortion of Sitt’s owners — Eddie, Ralph, David and Jack Sitt — between March and May 2007. … [more]

Jeans retailer Levi Strauss & Co. has inked a deal for 2,616 feet on the ground floor and the 2,000-foot lower level of the fully rehabilitated 414 West 14th Street retail and office building near the High Line. The six-story property, owned by Sitt Asset Management and the Carlyle Group, was completed in February but stands vacant. As The Real Deal first reported in December, the Meatpacking District space will be the San Francisco-based company’s fifth Manhattan location, adding to spots in Soho, and the Union Square area. A Levi’s spokesperson said then that the company was looking to be “opportunistic during the economic downturn,” by expanding globally. Levi’s new store is expected to open this fall, and the lease is for 10 years with a five-year option. The asking rent on the ground floor space was $400 per square foot, though brokers had said in December that they expected Levi’s to score a significant discount. [Post]

Levi’s may be moving into space 414 West 14th Street

San Francisco-based jeans retailer Levi Strauss & Co. is in talks to lease a portion of the newly-constructed 414 West 14th Street retail and office building in the Meatpacking District near the High Line, several retail sources said.

Levi’s would take less than half the 6,400 square feet of the ground-floor retail space, with about 25 feet of street frontage for a high-end store, the sources said. A lease at the building would be welcome news for the six-story office and retail building built by developer Sitt Asset Management and private equity firm the Carlyle Group. The site has been vacant since it was completed in February. The opening of the High Line in June has brought more potential shoppers to the neighborhood, but pedestrian traffic remains light during the day, some brokers said.

Levi’s has four locations in Manhattan, including in Soho at 536 Broadway near Spring Street and near Union Square at 25 West 14th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

A spokesperson for Levi’s said in an e-mail that the company was looking for space globally, but would not identify individual sites. … [more]