IT’S radical, dude. Boarding duds leader Quiksilver is creating a flagship spot at 3 Times Square.
The California-based retailer, which outfits surfers, skateboarders and snowboarders, will show off its extreme lifestyle in a roughly 5,400-square-foot shop on the northwest corner of 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue – right opposite the falling New Year’s Eve ball.
Quiksilver’s broker, Michael Hirschfeld of Westport, Conn.-based Urban & Specialty Retail Group, calls it a “tremendous corner.”
“It’s a great opportunity for a great, hip company to present all their product lines their way and with their style,” Hirschfeld said.
With the addition of Quiksilver to the already announced Skechers shop and the open J.P. Morgan Chase super-branch, 3 Times Square has completed its retail program. The building’s major office tenant is Reuters.
“We’re very excited they have chosen 3 Times Square and it will be a great addition to the Times Square area,” said building owner Billy Rudin, president of the Rudin Organization, of the 12-year Quiksilver deal.
Twenty years ago, Quiksilver’s Brooklyn-born executive vice president Marty Samuels recalled, his brother was mugged on the corner opposite the planned store. Samuels is happy to see Times Square transformed into a safe, colorful retail entertainment strip where the company can showcase brands Quiksilver and Roxy.
While the company has 300 stores worldwide – including a flagship on the Champs Elysees, and local stores in SoHo and Paramus, N.J. – Samuels believes the street frontage, the 20-foot-high interior ceiling and spectacular building signage will give them opportunities to “not only sell product, but do exciting things on the inside and on the outside.”
*
The prestigious Chicago Board Options Exchange high tailed it out of its 7,000 square feet at One World Trade Center to a temporary spot at 350 Park Ave. Now it’s agreed to return downtown for the next five years, taking what it hopes will be the 13th floor of 61 Broadway, totaling 2,850 square feet.
The deal was made at around $34 a foot with Matthew Brudner and Jodie Roberts of Insignia/ESG negotiating for the traders, while John Wheeler of Cushman & Wakefield represented the building owners.
*
Ronald McDonald is taking over 42nd Street today for a hamburger bash in the new, 17,500 square-foot McDonald’s triplex in the Candler Building. Charles Morris Mount designed a glitzy interior for the fast-food joint, complete with plasma TVs, memorabilia, videos and even burgers.
Franchise owner Irwin Kruger and Mickey D’s CEO Jack Greenberg will both be on hand for the party – just in case you want to complain about the new low-fat fries.
*
Apologies to Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects, whose future building design for developer Roy Stillman – at 181 E. 90th St. – was shown butchered last week by the small space allotted.