Brandon Miller’s East Village Project Lands First Office Tenants

Brandon Miller’s East Village project is finally landing office tenants.

Two firms have signed 10-year leases totaling more than 16,000 square feet at 1 St. Mark’s Place, the nine-story boutique office project built by the late developer’s company, Real Estate Equities Corporation, or REEC.

An investment firm leased 9,500 square feet spanning the building’s sixth and seventh floors, while a technology-focused investment firm took 6,800 square feet across the eighth and ninth floors, according to leasing and development manager GDSNY. The names of the tenants and asking rents were not given.

The deals mark a significant step forward for the 60,000-square-foot property, which had weathered its fair share of challenges, even before Miller’s tragic death almost two years ago. The project was still under development when Miller, a REEC principal and husband of lifestyle influencer Candice Miller, died by suicide in July 2024.

Questions lingered about the building’s future as REEC remained silent after Miller’s death. At one point, REEC fell behind on loan payments at the project, Parkview Financial CEO Paul Rahimian said that summer.

The timing of the office development couldn’t have been worse. The project kicked off just before the onset of the pandemic. REEC bought the leasehold on the property for $29 million from Edward Gabay and filed plans in 2018 to build a 53,000-square-foot office building entirely on spec. Before foundations were even dug, Madison Capital Realty tried foreclosing on the property in 2021.

Parkview rescued the project with a $70 million refinance the following year. Construction on the curved brick and glass building was finally completed last summer but leasing seemed to stall. Parkview brought in GDSNY in January to oversee leasing and development management at the property.

GDSNY has since sought to reposition the property, unveiling plans for a redesigned lobby. Sephora opened a 7,800-square-foot store on the ground floor in May.