After years of turning down offers that he viewed as “not the right fit” for the prized retail space at 135 East 57th Street, Charles Cohen has landed the tenant of his dreams.
Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th has signed a 16-year lease for the entire 56,000 s/f space, which comprises 2,000 s/f of street-level footage and two below grade concourse levels spanning over 54,000 s/f.
The department store chain expects to open one of its Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH stores at the site in March, 2016. It will mark the first OFF 5TH store to open in New York City.
“The addition of a new Saks store in this strategic location will be a dramatic game changer for 57th Street retail east of Park Avenue,” predicted Cohen, whose decision to keep his store space vacant until “the right tenant” came along, was ultimately rewarded after a wait of more than three years.
The space formerly housed the flagship store for the now defunct discount clothing retailer, Daffy’s.
Hudson’s Bay Company’s governor and executive chairman Richard H. Baker negotiated the long term leasing transaction on behalf of his retail chain directly with Cohen, who was also represented by Brad Mendelson and Alan Schmerzler of Cushman & Wakefield, together with Marc Horowitz, senior vice president and national director of office leasing at Cohen Brothers Realty Corp. Asking rent for the space was $120 per square foot.
Hudson’s Bay Company is the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH. Originally conceived as a clearinghouse for Saks Fifth Avenue merchandise, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH has reinvented itself as a major national retailer in its own right and, most recently, a c place to find the same deals online.
