Alexander Wang moving HQ to Howard Hughes’ Seaport building

Fashion brand hopes amenity-laden FiDi will entice employees back

Howard Hughes Corporation CEO David R. O’Reilly, Alexander Wang and  the Fulton Market Building (Getty, Howard Hughes Corporation)
Howard Hughes Corporation CEO David R. O’Reilly, Alexander Wang and  the Fulton Market Building (Getty, Howard Hughes Corporation)

Lower Manhattan’s coastal living aesthetic is about to get even more luxurious: High-end fashion designer Alexander Wang is moving its global headquarters to South Street Seaport.

The Howard Hughes Corporation announced Monday that Alexander Wang signed a lease for 46,000 square feet in the Fulton Market Building.

The top-floor space at 1 Fulton Street will be constructed into “a single, expansive floor — one that is column-free, with a [29-foot] ceiling,” to serve as offices and a showroom for the designer, according to Howard Hughes’ press release.

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Neither party disclosed the terms of the lease.

Alexander Wang will move from 386 Broadway in 2023 and become the Fulton Market Building’s anchor tenant.

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Sean Black, CEO of BLACKre

Sean Black, CEO of BLACKre

“This was an HQ relocation that was years in the planning, making, and execution,” Sean Black, CEO of BLACKre, who represented Alexander Wang, said in a statement.

Howard Hughes said in a release that the deal is “a prime example of what we see as the future-proofing of downtown Manhattan,” because the space and neighborhood selection are designed to entice employees to come to the office.

With this move, Alexander Wang joins the ranks of employers using amenities as a carrot to draw largely homebound workers back.

The first floor of the building, now under construction, will be primarily occupied early next year by Lawn Club, an indoor-outdoor gaming venue.

Howard Hughes has been developing the historic Seaport neighborhood into a high-end commercial district that attracts big events and well-known restaurateurs. Most of the attention it has received in the area, though, was for getting approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission and City Council for a mixed-use development at 250 Water Street