Tiffany & Co. plans to keep its global headquarters at 200 Fifth Ave. for a long time to come. Although it trimmed its space to 287,000 square feet from just over 400,000 — the kind of pruning many companies are doing — its more meaningful step was to extend its lease for 10 more years.
The lengthened commitment, reported here for the first time, reaffirms landlord L&L Holding Co.’s success in steering the 1909 landmark building, which L&L bought in near-ruined condition for $480 million, through a succession of challenges. They included fallout from the Great Recession, the shocking loss of an equity partner and the last-minute collapse of a major lease.
Throughout the odyssey, L&L founders David W. Levinson and Robert Lapidus managed to keep the property on course. They landed Tiffany and Grey Global Group as office tenants and Italian food hall Eataly — which was then unknown in the US — as its retail anchor. IMG is also a small office tenant.
Tiffany’s extended lease runs to 2036. Terms weren’t available, but a source said they included a triple-digit rent and a “nominal” concession package.
Tiffany’s space reduction leaves only 57,691 square feet up for grabs at the 800,000 square-foot location — the first office availability since L&L completed a $135 million capital upgrade program a few years ago.
Levinson and L&L executive vice president David C. Berkey represented the ownership in-house. Savills’ Greg Taubin and Matthew Barlow acted for Tiffany.
Meanwhile, the restoration and enlargement of the jeweler’s flagship store at 727 Fifth Ave. appears to be in the home stretch. A three-story addition on top is now clearly visible. There’s no official word yet when Tiffany will move back in after subleasing the former Niketown next door at Trump-owned 6 E. 57th St. as a temporary home since 2018.
The curtain fell ever so quietly on Pergola des Artistes, one of the theater district’s few surviving bistros that harked back to the days when French sailors strolled in for beef bourguignon and Bourdeaux wine after they disembarked from passenger ships on the West Side piers.
The time-warp haunt at 252 W. 46th St., fondly remembered for its white tablecloths, red linen napkins and honest French cuisine, is sandwiched between the Imperial Theatre and an empty lot slated for development.
The restaurant closed “temporarily” during the pandemic but will not reopen. It was owned by the family of Christian Ponsolle which also owns the four-story building. The Pergola space is now on the market via Douglas Elliman Commercial’s Louis Puopolo, Matthew Leto and Bradford Siderow. Puopolo said a new tenant might be announced soon.
The ups-and-downs of glamorous indoor shopping malls like the ones at the World Trade Center and Deutsche Bank Center draw endless media attention. Meanwhile, some outdoor retail complexes in less glamorous parts of town receive little acclaim despite thriving in plain sight.
Among them: The Shops at Marble Hill in the Bronx, previously known as River Plaza. The 240,000 square-foot, mid-market shopping mecca at the foot of the No. 1 train West 225th Street elevated station is regarded as the linchpin of the borough’s Broadway-corridor resurgence.
In a struggling retail environment, the Shops at Marble Hill is remarkably 100% leased. New deals were recently signed for nearly 11,000 square feet — for Foot Locker, Sally Beauty and MedRite and for a relocation of Applebee’s within the complex.
The property has been anchored by Target since 2004. Other tenants include Marshalls, City Jeans, Planet Fitness and T-Mobile. The owner is Kingsbridge Associates, a partnership of Curbcut Realty, Kessler-Sachs Family Partnership, James Levin and Washington Square Partners.
Paul Travis, managing partner of Washington Square, said the Marble Hill complex is in the top 5% of consumer traffic for all the city’s shopping centers.
Asking rents have been $95 per square foot.