Ulta Beauty Inks $400M Lease At Jeff Sutton’s 1551 Broadway

Beauty retailer Ulta Beauty has inked a massive $400 million lease at Jeff Sutton’s marquee Midtown retail property in Times Square, The Real Deal has learned.

The Illinois-based cosmetics and skincare retailer will occupy all four floors of the 26,000-square-foot building at 1551 Broadway, owned by Sutton’s Wharton Properties. The 15-year lease also includes the building’s 250-foot LED sign, a source with knowledge of the deal said.

Ulta will replace American Eagle, which currently has its flagship store in the building. Neither Sutton nor an Ulta representative immediately responded to a request for comment.

At its most recent earnings call, Ulta CEO and president Kecia Steelman said it planned to open an “experiential” Times Square store focused on events and customer experience, according to the beauty and wellness trade publication Glossy. The retailer currently has three Manhattan locations.

Wharton bought both 1551 and 1555 Broadway in a 50-50 joint venture with SL Green for a total of $82.5 million in 2005. The building was once the site of the Times Square Howard Johnson’s hotel, which closed in 2005. Sutton and SL Green demolished the buildings and built new retail that opened in 2009; Sutton eventually bought out SL Green’s stake in 1551 Broadway.

Sutton scored a $176 million refinancing for the property in March from Acore Capital. The refi comes two years after Sutton secured an extension on a $180 million CMBS loan backed by the property. The loan briefly went into special servicing before Sutton landed the refinancing.

Times Square’s retail recovery remains uneven, with leasing activity concentrated in a handful of categories and apparel tenants still largely absent, according to REBNY’s second half 2025 retail report. Experiential concepts like Monopoly Experience have helped fill some space.
Meanwhile, foot traffic remains strong. The Times Square Alliance recorded roughly 222,000 pedestrians in November, up 18 percent from two years earlier.