136 West 42nd Street (credit: PropertyShark)

Two new hotels and a retail complex are coming to Times Square, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, the space formerly occupied by Pop-Tarts World and Charmin Restrooms, DNAinfo reported. A new 250- to 300-room hotel is set to open in 2013 in the now-vacant lot at 136 West 42nd Street, worth from $112.5 to $135 million, according to DiamondRock Hospitality Company, which announced the deal. Highgate Holdings, which is expected to operate the hotel, declined to comment on its plans for the property, but C. Bradley Mendelson, executive vice president at Cushman & Wakefield, which has been in negotiations over retail space there, said the property will likely rise 30 stories and could become a Hilton. [more]

Boston Properties President Doug Linde talked about buying out some of
the GM Building’s under-market leases, including that of anchor retail
tenant FAO Schwarz, after Boston Properties’ $2.8 billion purchase of
the building last year. Cushman & Wakefield’s C. Bradley Mendelson,
Boston Properties’ broker, is now marketing the 66,465-square-foot FAO
Schwarz space, which is spread across three floors, according to the
New York Post. The retailer reportedly now pays just over $70 per
square foot for the space. FAO Schwarz’s lease ends in 2012 and it
appears to be shopping for a smaller store. Comments

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