Swiss watch retailer Swatch signed a 15-year lease today valued at $80 million for the
remaining 2,000-square-foot ground-floor retail space in the commercial condominium
at 666 Fifth Avenue owned by a joint venture of the Carlyle Group, Kushner Companies
and Crown Acquisitions, sourceS close to the deal said.
The rent for the space with a 20-foot wide frontage squeezed between Hollister and
Uniqlo, was approximately $2,000 per square foot, the source said. Bradley Mendelson, a
top retail broker at Cushman & Wakefield, represented the landlord.
The deal was the latest high-priced transactions at the building. Last week Zara’s parent
company, the Spanish apparel firm Inditex, paid $324 million to buy the 39,000-
square-foot retail condo from the owners. Carlyle, Kushner and Crown then refinanced
the remaining portion of the space, housing Hollister, Uniqlo and now Swatch, with a
$300 million first mortgage from Morgan Stanley.
In April 2010, Uniqlo signed one of the most expensive leases ever, when it agreed to pay
about $20 million for 89,000 square feet.
Swatch, Mendelson, Carlyle and Carlyle didn’t immediately respond to request for calls for comment. Kushner declined to comment.