Grocery stores, gyms, even a comedy club. Brooklyn’s top retail leases last year offered a little bit of everything, but it was the same tenant that inked the two largest deals.
The borough’s 10 biggest retail leases combined for more than 180,000 square feet, with the top two spots going to the discount grocery chain Lidl, which marked its expansion into Brooklyn with deals in Crown Heights and Park Slope.
Lidl’s preeminence is partially because Brooklyn did not see the same volume of mega-deals as last year, when three separate landlords signed tenants to leases of 70,000 square feet or more.
Below is more information on each of the borough’s top 10 retail leases of 2022, ranked by square footage:
1. Lidl | Crown Heights | 33,000 square feet
The rapidly expanding supermarket chain Lidl nabbed 33,000 square feet on a 15-year deal at 1730 Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights in July, marking Brooklyn’s biggest retail lease of the year. The asking rent for the space was $45 per square foot.
Augenbaum Realty’s Josh Augenbaum represented the landlord, 1730 Bedford Avenue Realty, while Schuckman Realty’s Kenneth Schuckman represented Lidl.
2. Lidl | Park Slope | 25,000 square feet
The borough’s second-largest retail lease also belonged to Lidl, which took 25,000 square feet at 120 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, where it’s replacing a shuttered Key Foods and will anchor the retail space at the base of a 180-unit rental complex being developed by Billy Macklowe and Senlac Ridge Partners. Kenneth Schuckman also represented Lidl in that deal, while a RIPCO team including Alex Beard and Jason Pennington represented the developers.
Outside Brooklyn, Lidl also scooped up 35,000 square feet in July at Madison International Realty’s Queens Place Mall in Elmhurst.
3. Bay Ridge Senior Center | Bay Ridge | 21,900 square feet
The Bay Ridge Senior Center secured 21,900 square feet for 15 years at 15 Bay Ridge Avenue in Bay Ridge last February. The senior center had been based in the basement of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church a few blocks east at 6917 Fourth Avenue for roughly 50 years.
MC O’Brien’s Andrew Aberham and William O’Brien brokered the deal for landlord Phillips International, while Capalino’s Tim Kucha represented the senior center in the deal.
4. Fine Fare Supermarket | East New York | 20,000 square feet
Fine Fare Supermarket signed a 25-year agreement for 20,000 square feet in August at 50 Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York. The grocery store will be the retail anchor to developer Pennrose Holdings’ 218-unit affordable housing complex 50 Penn. Asking rent for the space $40 a square foot.
Booth Capital Advisors’ Greg Parassio and Brian Doyle represented both sides of the deal.
5. Le Labo | Williamsburg | 15,500 square feet
The French fragrance company Le Labo took 15,500 square feet last March at 71 North 7th Street in Williamsburg. CBRE represented the landlord, Largo Investments, in the deal, the terms of which have not been reported.
6. Blink Fitness | Bushwick | 15,000 square feet
Gym chain Blink Fitness flexed 15,000 square feet across three floors in December at 886 Broadway in Bushwick. A Newmark team including Ryan Gessin and William Grover represented the landlord, Spark Management, while Retail Zone’s Ezra Saff represented Blink.
7. Boxed | Fort Greene | 14,800 square feet
In August, online wholesale retailer Boxed signed a 10-year deal for 14,800 square feet at RXR Realty’s 470 Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene. The asking rent was $50 per square foot, and Boxed will occupy the entire ground floor of the 10-story building. The location will include an in-person grocery store to complement the company’s delivery services.
RXR’s Madeleine Nero represented the landlord in-house, while Charter Realty’s Scott Edlitz represented Boxed in the deal.
8. CVS Pharmacy | Dumbo | 12,400 square feet
CVS Pharmacy snapped up 12,400 square feet for 15 years last January at 85 Jay Street in Dumbo. The store will be at the base of the 1.1 million-square-foot Front & York residential development, which includes both condos and rental components.
A Winick Realty Group team including Steven Baker and Daniyel Cohen represented the landlord, CIM Group, while a Newmark team including Jason Pruger and Ross Kaplan represented CVS.
9. The Learning Experience | Williamsburg | 12,300 square feet
The early childhood care center The Learning Experience nabbed a 15-year lease for 12,300 square feet in September at 510 Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg. The asking rent was $165 a foot for the nearly 4,000-square-foot ground-floor space and $60 a foot for the larger space in the basement. It’s expected to move into the five-story condo development this year.
Verada’s Brendan Thrapp and Nathaniel Mallon represented the landlord, Northlink Capital, while Nick Vandella represented The Learning Experience in-house.
10. Second City | Williamsburg | 11,900 square feet
Chicago-based improv comedy troupe Second City inked a deal in October for 11,900 square feet at Wythe Avenue Properties’ 64 North 9th Street, also in Williamsburg. The group’s first New York City location will open next summer with a theater, classrooms, restaurant and bar.
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