Eretz Group has tapped a NGKF leasing team to draw TAMI tenants to its corner of Silicon Alley.
After flirting with a sale of the 150,000 s/f 252 West 37th Street in 2011, the firm’s Nicholas Mok said the plan now is to “unlock this asset’s full potential while making sure the property is represented in a deserving manner.ˮ
The landlord has retained NGKF executive managing director Matthew Leon to lead a marketing team that will include colleague Brittany Silver in a lead role, along with NGKF director Jamie Jacobs.
The choice of broker — and a pre-built program that plays to the property’s high ceilings, creative open pantries and polished concrete floors so favored by today’s hip, trendy and booming TAMI sector — is indicative of the caliber of tenancy Eretz is hoping will ease into the roll-over space coming available in the building within the next 12 months.
For the past decade-plus, Leon has delivered a roster of blue ribbon residents for TF Cornerstone at Carnegie Hall Tower, 645 Madison Avenue and the newly repositioned 387 Park Avenue South through a myriad of market cycles.
He told Real Estate Weekly that his teamʼs aim at 252 West 37th is to “unleash the buildingʼs innate potential by leveraging its boutique floor plate, creative open plans and commuter-centric locationˮ within the Fashion District to attract tenants burned by pricing in the red hot Midtown South market, where 2Q rents reached an all-time high at $66.86 psf, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
“We will create the perfect balance for TAMI tenants who seek high-end, collaborative, edgy installations in a hip commuter-proximate location at rent levels in the $50s psf,ˮ said Leon, noting that the landlord had just this week finished its initial pre-built suite at 252 with immediate favorable review.
With luxury womenswear brand Diane von Furstenberg, Marithé + François Girbaud, Lauren Vidal and Passport Brands Inc. among the office tenancy, and the retail anchored by popular beer joint, District Tap House, 252 West 37th Street has managed to parlay the 87-year-old buildingʼs location close to Penn Station and the Port Authority into a solid roster.
“Thus far, we have had an exceptional leasing campaign benefiting from the asset’s outstanding physical characteristics, proximity to major transportation hubs and it being situated in one of the most dynamic neighborhoods in Manhattan,ˮ said Mok.
“I am confident that this Newmark team will assist us greatly in continuing to unlock this asset’s full value all while making sure the property is represented in a deserving manner.ˮ
For his part, Leon predicts the tenant profile at 252 West 37th will “organically changeˮ as leases roll over and this pocket of the Garment Center gives way to new hotel and apartment buildings that are proliferating the area.
He added, “Along with Nick and The Eretz Group, our team is simply proactively getting in front of a changing market so 252W37 is best suited to effectively welcome the dynamic new tenancy kicking the tires in this evolving submarket.ˮ
Brittany Silver added, “The new pre-built space at 252 plays to the culture of collaboration within which todayʼs technolgy, advertising, media and information tenants thrive. We are confident that 252 West 37th Street will be a leading building in the transformation of this submarket and are excited to roll up our sleeves and get going.ˮ
