Hyundai’s luxury brand inks huge retail lease in Meatpacking District

Korean carmaker’s Genesis is taking 40K sf at Aurora, William Gottlieb's Solar Carve Tower

Genesis General Manager Erwin Raphael and renderings of 40 Tenth Avenue (Credit: Genesis and Studio Gang Architects)
Genesis General Manager Erwin Raphael and renderings of 40 Tenth Avenue (Credit: Genesis and Studio Gang Architects)

Genesis, the luxury car brand by South Korean automaker Hyundai, is gliding into the Meatpacking District in what is set to be among the priciest retail deals of 2017.

A partnership between Aurora Capital Associates and William Gottlieb Real Estate signed Genesis to roughly 40,000 square feet at the base of the Solar Carve Tower at 40 Tenth Avenue, documents filed with the city’s Department of Finance reveal.

Sources estimated the annual rent at approximately $11 million, making it one of the most valuable retail leases of 2017. That breaks down to an average blended rent per square foot of $275.

Aurora represented the ownership joint venture, while Richard Nassimi and Michael Lohan of the Nassimi Group represented Hyundai, industry sources said. The developers did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Hyundai or Nassimi.

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This is at least the second luxury car brand to ink a deal in the neighborhood. Tesla Motors signed a lease in 2016 at Romanoff Equities’ new development at 860 Washington Street, a block away. The store opened earlier this month.

Aurora and Gottlieb filed plans in 2015 to construct the 12-story, 117,000-square-foot tower with two floors of retail and 10 floors of office space at the corner of 10th Avenue and West 13th Street. This September, they scored $120 million in construction financing from Bank of the Ozarks.

The Genesis brand, led by General Manager Erwin Raphael, launched as a stand-alone in 2015. Like Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti or Honda’s Acura, it is Hyundai’s attempt to tap the upscale market. In Consumer Reports’ annual owner satisfaction survey, Genesis placed third, behind Tesla and Porsche.