RFR announced a 29,750 S/F lease at 190 Bowery, the landmarked 1898 architectural icon at the corner of Spring Street and the Bowery, with a soon-to-be-named consortium that serves as the umbrella company for the world’s foremost fashion talent agencies and archives.
The group includes Trunk Archive and is headed by Trunk Archive CEO Matthew Moneypenny. It will occupy floors 2 through 6 of the historic building, leaving only the ground floor retail space available. RFR closed on the acquisition of 190 Bowery in January 2015.
“It’s serendipity that a group of renowned, international photo agencies has leased space previously occupied by Jay Maisel Photography,” said Aby Rosen, co-founder and principal of RFR.
“With the upper floors fully leased, our attention is focused on finding a great tenant for the tremendous ground floor retail opportunity in one of New York’s most desirable neighborhoods.”
190 Bowery is a 38,000 s/f building, originally designed by the architect Robert Maynicke to house the Germania Ban. It is widely known as one of New York’s finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture.
The property is unique among buildings of its size, age, and architectural pedigree in having served as a private residence for nearly 50 years leading up to RFR’s acquisition. For this reason, in addition to the well-preserved exterior, many of the original architectural details of its period interior remain intact.
The new tenant — which represents leading photographers, directors, stylists, hair and make-up artists and other related creatives — is pro-preservation and plans to use virtually all of the space in its existing historic configuration.
Agencies in the group include Trunk Archive, CLM, Management Artists, Tim Howard Management, Bernstein & Andriulli, MAP Ltd., Streeters and many others.
