Cushman & Wakefield is poised to land a contract to broker up to 230,000 square feet of retail space at Port Authority transit hubs in the city and across the Hudson River, agency documents show.
The bi-state agency is looking for a firm to handle marketing and leasing of retail spaces at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Journal Square PATH station in Jersey City.
Cushman scored highest on a pair of requests for proposals the agency submitted earlier this year, according to an agenda for the authority’s upcoming meeting.
Board members will vote on a measure to authorize the agreements at a meeting in New Jersey Wednesday. If approved, the deal at the bus terminal would be worth $1.1 million over the three-year term.
Cushman did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Port Authority said the intent was not necessarily a complete overhaul of the properties’ retail tenants, though upgrades would be considered along with lease renewals.
Back in 2010 the Port Authority signed an agreement with 20X Square Associates to manage and operate the retail spaces inside the bus hub on Eighth Avenue.
During that time, “Revenues were significantly enhanced, and the caliber of retailers was improved,” according to the agency’s meeting materials.
20X declined to renew its agreement, the Port Authority said, which ran through mid-August.
Under the terms of the proposal with Cushman, the Port Authority would handle management of the retail spaces while the brokerage would cover marketing and leasing some 150,000 square feet of space in the terminal’s north and south wings, as well as a vacant 13,000-square-foot space in the rear of the building at 551 Ninth Avenue.
In New Jersey, Cushman would enter into a brokerage agreement covering 47,000 square feet at the PATH station with the potential to add another 22,000 square feet. The deal would also cover three years and be worth $230,000.
Cushman and the Port Authority have partnered in the past.
In 2007 the brokerage served as an advisor on a plan to develop a 1.3-million square foot office tower over the bus terminal. That same year Cushman was hired to handle office leasing at 1 World Trade Center.