UPDATED, Nov. 10 at 2:27 p.m.: Burger chain Carl’s Jr. is negotiating to lease a huge billboard near Penn Station with an asking rent of $1.2 million. And it also signed a lease for a store.
The fast-food franchise, operated by Tennessee-based CKE Restaurant Holdings, is opening its first Manhattan store at 425-427 Seventh Avenue, the broker who negotiated the lease told The Real Deal.
“They wanted to make a big splash in New York and this is the way to do it,” said Albert Manopla of Kassin Sabbagh Realty, who represented the tenant along with KSR’s Avi Akkiva. “Seventh Avenue and 34th Street is one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in New York City.”
KSR’s David Marciano represented landlord DK China.
The asking rent for the 15-year deal, which covers 3,300 square feet across three floors, was $900,000 per year, Manopla said.
But Carl’s Jr. will pay more for the large billboard outside the building than it pays for its lease. Manopla said the restaurant is negotiating to lease the sign, at an asking rent of $1.2 million per year.
Manopla declined to comment on the billboard. Landlord DK China operates the property through a net lease with the property’s owner, United Pacific Development Corp.
Once-gritty retail around the Penn Station area is getting a fresh look with major redevelopment projects on the Far West Side, such as Vornado Realty Trust’s overhaul of its properties at One And Two Penn Plaza.
Carl’s Jr. is reportedly also opening a location in Coney Island.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Carl’s Jr. had signed a lease for a billboard with an asking rent of $1.2 million, based on information provided by the broker.