Condo board suit over gym lease goes to court

New York State Supreme Court will decide future of retail space at 140 Franklin Street

From left: 140 Franklin Street and Mickey Drexler
From left: 140 Franklin Street and Mickey Drexler

The landlord of a Tribeca condominium building blocked from leasing space to Crunch Gym is heading to court next week to fight a temporary restraining order brought by the building’s board of managers.

The restraining order currently prohibits development firm Lily Realty from signing the gym to a lease for 19,000 square feet on the ground floor and lower levels of 140 Franklin Street, but will expire after the court reaches a decision next Wednesday.

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The condo board filed a $5 million lawsuit with the New York State Supreme Court in January claiming the building doesn’t have the proper zoning to house a gym, and that the lease would violate the building’s condo declaration and by-laws, the Commercial Observer reported. Broker Jamison Weiner of the Manhattes Group had expected to lease the space, on the corner of Franklin and Varick streets, for about $110 per foot.

The six-story building is home 13 tenants, including high-profile New Yorkers like J. Crew chief executive Mickey Drexler, who bought a combined fifth-floor unit for $14.3 million in 2012, city records show. [NYO] — Angela Hunt