Ryan Serhant leases 15K sf to open Soho HQ

Brokerage will move to 372 West Broadway this spring

Celebrity broker Ryan Serhant and his firm's future office. (PopShop, Ryan Serhant)
Celebrity broker Ryan Serhant and his firm's future office. (PopShop, Ryan Serhant)

Ryan Serhant is bringing his new brokerage to Soho.

The celebrity broker’s firm has outgrown its initial office in Tribeca and has signed a 15,000-square-foot lease to take over the four-level building at 372 West Broadway. The long-vacant storefront was last occupied by Tommy Hilfiger.

“We’re just growing too fast,” said Serhant. “So we went on the hunt for a trophy building and found one.”

Serhant declined to reveal terms of the lease, but said his firm has taken possession of the landmarked building on the corner of West Broadway and Broome Street and is in the process of a custom built-out.

Read more

An undated listing on PopShop said about 6,000 square feet at the building was previously leased on a short-term basis starting at $5,000 per day for a minimum of five days and going up to $75,000 per month. Last fall, the median asking rent in the area — Broadway between Houston and Broome streets — was $358 per square foot, or 25 percent lower than a year earlier, according to a report by the Real Estate Board of New York.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The landlord’s brokers — the Maglio, Shuster, Zisholtz Commercial Team at Douglas Elliman — said the new lease brings “much needed energy” to the area, but declined to comment on pricing. Newmark Knight Frank, which represented Serhant, also declined.

While the renovation, led by INC Architecture & Design, occurs over the coming months, the large windows will be plastered with pop-culture quotes and references to the city. Among the sources will be Jay-Z, the television show “Friends” and comedian Jerry Seinfeld, whose face and words graced the facade of one of Miki Naftali’s condominium projects on the Upper East Side last year.

The ground level will house the firm’s in-house film studio. A lounge, show kitchen and iPad displaying listings will occupy the building’s lower level and part of the ground level, with meeting rooms and co-working space for agents on the top two floors.

Serhant said his new office, dubbed “SERHANT. House,” was the result of his now 42-person firm outgrowing its inaugural office space in Tribeca. The Soho building, when ready, will become the firm’s headquarters and the team will leave the Tribeca property.

“All company resources will be under the same roof,” said Serhant, though he noted that the new lease isn’t a move toward a traditional office. His agents are still outfitted to work remotely; the office is designed to be a meeting hub and will also be accessible to non-agents and employees. Clients and agents in the firm’s membership programs will have access too.

To be a Serhant member, agents must have completed the broker’s $500 introductory course. Monthly membership fees start at $10, while “pro” membership packages costing $10,000 to $24,000 include mentorship from Serhant and other coaching services.

Serhant is not the only brokerage investing in office space in the city. The Corcoran Group is also renovating an office at the IBM Building in Midtown, which will serve as its new corporate headquarters and the home office of 400 agents.