In one of the city’s largest-ever retail condominium deals, Spain’s Inditex Group has agreed to pay $324 million to purchase 32,000 square feet at 666 Fifth Avenue for a new flagship Zara store, the company announced today. The space, formerly an NBA store, is roughly one-third of the 90,000 square feet purchased by Stanley Chera’s Crown Acquisitions, the Carlyle Group and Kushner Companies for $525 million in 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal, which originally broke the news of the deal. The rest, which is currently leased by Uniqlo and Hollister, is also on the market. The purchase price for the Zara space includes the buyout of the remaining time on the NBA’s lease, which sources said had less than three years before its expiration. Uniqlo’s lease at 666 Fifth last year, in which it agreed to pay $300 million over 15 years, was among the city’s most expensive retail leases ever. [WSJ]

From left: Charles Kushner, chairman of Kushner Companies; company principal and son Jared Kushner and 666 Fifth Avenue

It’s been a good week for the Kushner Companies at 666 Fifth Avenue, the 41-story office tower between 52nd and 53rd streets. Japanese retailer Uniqlo recently signed on to pay a record $300 million over 15 years for the building’s 100,000-square-foot retail condo that formerly housed Brooks Brothers. Today, the Post reports that energy-focused law firm Vinson & Elkins has renewed its lease and taken an additional 6,972 square feet, bringing its total to roughly 81,000 square feet at the property. The firm’s original lease was set to expire in November. Last year, law firm Orrick Herrington left 666 Fifth Avenue, putting Kushner in a bit of a crunch as it negotiated with its special servicer, something the company contends was their choice and was not due to a default.
[Post]

Japanese retailer Uniqlo has snagged 89,000 square feet at 666 Fifth Avenue’s former Brooks Brothers space for a record $300 million over 15 years, Bloomberg reported. Uniqlo, which is owned by Fast Retailing, Japan’s largest clothier, and also has a location in Soho, will pay roughly $20 million per year for the lease on what will be its New York flagship. The asking price for the space was reportedly $30 million per year. C. Bradley Mendelson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlords, Kushner Companies, Crown Acquisitions and Carlyle Group. [Bloomberg]

Uniqlo (left) and Topshop (right) are interested in the old Brooks Brothers space (center)

According to the Post, downtown retailers are interested in the former
Brooks Brothers site at 666 Fifth Avenue, at 53rd Street. Sources said
the two front-runners to take the 30,000-square-foot, two-level space
are Uniqlo and Topshop, which both have locations on Broadway in Soho.
The building’s retail space is owned by a partnership of Kushner Cos.,
Crown Acquisitions and the Carlyle Group. The partners bought Brooks
Brothers out of its below-market lease last year for $47 million. The
asking rent for the space is reportedly $30 million a year. [more]