Brookfield Office Properties’ One New York Plaza is planning a gut renovation of its 31,000-square-foot, sub-level retail concourse, known as the Plaza Shops, in an effort to attract new tenants, the New York Observer reported. One New York Plaza — Lower Manhattan’s southernmost skyscraper — located at the intersection of South and Whitehall streets, was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, pumping out some 23-million-gallons of water after the storm.
“All of the water was removed within six days, and now those yellow ducts are feeding warm air to completely dry the space out,” Matt Cherry, a spokesperson for Brookfield Office Properties told the Commercial Observer. “Obviously the retail was on the concourse level, which was hit hardest by the storm. We basically demolished the space, so the status of that right now isn’t certain.”
According to Cherry, the majority of the Plaza Shops’ retailers were on short term or even month-to-month leases and the building management was already planning a retail positioning prior to the storm. The building’s retail tenants included Mr. Soup, Gateway Newsstands, Salvatore’s Men’s Barbershop, Chase Manhattan ATM, Vivo Food, Subway, The Battery Conservancy, Dunkin Donuts and Argent Executive Polish.
One New York Plaza reopened its office space on November 17 and its largest tenant, Morgan Stanley is scheduled to move back in today. [NYO] —Christopher Cameron