By Liana Grey
Bond, a new restaurant and bar, has leased a 3,500 s/f retail space on the ground floor of 215 West 40th Street, a 14-story office building between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
Grant Greenspan, principal of the Kaufman Organization, represented the building’s landlord, a limited liability company, and Michael Heaner, a partner at Kaufman, represented Bond, which also leased 2,500 s/f in the basement.
The dining spot, which will open in October, joins a handful of retailers that have moved onto the block, including the bar Beer Authority and the popular discount chain Lot-Less.
“I had a lot of food uses looking at the space,” said Greenspan. “The demographics of neighborhood have changed.”
With a string of hotels opening on West 40th Street over the last several years, Greenspan explained, the street has transformed from a nine-to-five neighborhood, catering to midtown office workers and Port Authority commuters, to an around-the-clock destination for tourists and locals alike.
“It’s more youthful,” Greenspan said. “There are higher-income individuals looking for somewhere to go after work, which might mean 9 or 10 at night.”
The New York Times building anchors West 40th Street on Eighth Avenue, and CUNY’s journalism school is located just down the block from Bond at 219 West 40th Street.
In addition to the tourists staying at hotels opposite the Port Authority Bus Terminal, such as the Distrikt Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton, Broadway theatergoers have been drawn to the area’s improving nightlife and dining scene.
As a result of the increased foot traffic, Greenspan said, rents are higher on West 40th Street than Garment District cross-streets further south. The asking rent for the ground-floor retail space at 215 West 40th according to CoStar, was around $54 per s/f.
“It’s a well-travelled block,” Greenspan explained. “Retail rents are starting to rise.”
