By Holly Dutton
A second tenant has been added to the roster of retailers at the former City Department of Finance building at 210 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn.
YogaWorks, a national yoga practice chain, has taken space at the Brooklyn Municipal Building in Downtown Brooklyn.
It will join cosmetics chain Sephora, which will be the anchor tenant and occupy 7,000 s/f and a basement on a ground-level corner spot. YogaWorks will occupy 5,800 s/f in the building incorporating two large studios featuring 13 ft. ceilings, locker rooms with showers and towel service, a lifestyle boutique and a tea bar.
The space will be energy-efficient, outfitted with LED lighting, FSC-certified bamboo flooring, and low VOC paint.
“Getting the opportunity to be a part of the newly-constructed Brooklyn Heights Plaza is such an incredible opportunity for our brand,” said Phil Swain, CEO of YogaWorks.
Lori Shabtai and Monica Kass of Winick Realty Group represented YogaWorks in the 10-year deal. The yoga studio is expected to open next year.
The retail development took shape in 2010, with the plan to develop nearly 40,000 s/f of retail on the first two floors of the city-owned building.
In August of 2011, Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz announced the retail development at 210 Joralemon Street, which will “serve as an anchor for the Court Street retail corridor in the City’s third largest Central Business District,” according to the press release announcing the venture.
The city noted in the initial announcement of the development that one of the retail spaces will be a full-service restaurant.
The city chose United American Land (UAL), a family-owned real estate development firm based in NYC, to develop the project after putting out an RFP in 2011.
Last May, UAL closed on the 50,000 s/f commercial condo that comprises of the basement and first two floors of the Brooklyn Municipal Building for $10 million.
The two floors were previously occupied by the Department of Finance, which relocated to other parts of the building.
Tenants announced so far include cosmetics chain Sephora, which will be the anchor tenant and occupy 7,000 s/f and a basement on a ground-level corner spot.
Just around the corner from the new retail development is 345 Adams Street, another city-sponsored development to spur retail growth in Downtown Brooklyn.
The building is also a city municipal building, and Muss Development purchased the first two floors in 2007 to convert the space for retail use, a total of 35,785 s/f.
Now fully leased, retail tenants include frozen yogurt chain Orange Leaf, Panera Bread, Potbelly Sandwiches, Hill Country Chicken and child care organization Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
