Talk about retail profiling. Ashkenazy Acquisitions, the owner of the condo that houses the elegant Barney’s store at 660 Madison Ave., signed a contract to pay $60 million for the 45,000-square-foot original Barney’s building at the corner of Seventh Avenue at West 17th Street. Next door to the south, Barney’s will open on the West 16th Street corner.
Barney’s founders, the Pressman family, sold the company and later the buildings to Isetan of America. When Isetan put the chain into bankruptcy, the seven-story building at 115 Seventh Ave., along with the adjoining 138-154 W. 17th, was sold to the Rubin Museum of Art for $20 million.
Beyer Blinder Belle designed the popular museum in No. 150, which showcases many of the 1,200 pieces of Tibetan and Himalayan art acquired by Donald and Shelly Rubin.
“During the early years, there was hope the space [at 115 Seventh] would be redesigned as a public museum, but the museum trustees determined that the sale of the property was in the best long-term financial interest for the institution,” said Daniel Hernandez, a spokesman for the museum.
Glenn Tolchin of JLL was hired to sell it as a development site as its current 45,000 square feet can be enlarged to 70,000 square feet, which made it attractive to converters. A spokesman for JLL declined comment.
Ashkenazy, led by Ben Ashkenazy and Michael Alpert, are prolific buyers of retail condominiums and numerous office buildings, but not converters, although they are also in contract to pay just under $400 million for the 361 apartments at Avalon Chrystie Place, which has a large Whole Foods component. They did not return requests for comment, but it is likely they will pitch the building to stores that will be happy to co-locate next to Barney’s.
Indeed, sources tell us some of their bidding rivals included both Barney’s and Saks — now owned by Hudson Bay — which is thisclose to inking its lease for a 70,000-square-foot Saks store at Brookfield Place and a 54,000-square-foot Saks OFF 5th at Brookfield’s 1 Liberty.
“It’s a department store drama,” declared Douglas Elliman Retail Chairman Faith Hope Consolo, who is not involved in these deals. “Hudson Bay is on a hunt to gobble everything … and grow their presence in New York and the US.”
Barney’s is also salivating over the museum building. It has already rented back its original 1923 store at West 16th Street that was occupied by Loehmann’s before its bankruptcy. But it is only one-fifth the size of the Madison flagship and Barney’s wants the rest of its former digs.
Since the Ashkenazy associates already have a relationship with Barney’s, unless Hudson Bay or another retailer makes an offer they can’t refuse, a Barney’s expansion could be in the works. Stay tuned.
The United States Conference of Mayors hosted by Mayor Bill de Blasio at Gracie Mansion this week focused a lot on economic inequality. When we noted the lack of affordable rentals in many cities and asked if the mayors were still going to advocate home ownership as a way out of poverty, many of the mayors shook their heads, “Yes.”
But host de Blasio wisely sidestepped the home-ownership money pit and foreclosure trap and instead concentrated on the lack of Section 8 vouchers, whose tap is restricted by the Feds.
“It’s hurt our people, it’s hurt the affordability of our cities, it’s hurt the dynamicness of our cities, and this is one where we’re going to say to Washington — if you want our cities to be the economic engines, you have to be part of the solution on affordable housing.”
According to city data, there are 121,999 families waiting for Section 8 housing, which pays two-thirds of the rent. Last week, the Feds sent New York State $503,208 for just 58 homeless veterans.
A “Kinky Boots” producer will be stepping into a 4,535-square-foot office space in the iconic Studio 54 building at 254 W. 54th St.
Ken Davenport’s Davenport Theatrical Enterprises will occupy the entire light-filled 14th floor in the 24/7 building. While now located at 250 W. 49th, which is being turned into a hotel, Davenport wanted to remain near his West 45th Street theater and other Theater District ventures.
“As pricing is going up, theater companies are getting squeezed out of the area and it took us a year to find the right alternative,” said Greg Kraut of Avison Young, who worked with the Tony Award-winner and AV colleague Brett Harvey to find the perfect venue for Davenport’s next decade on Broadway.
Whitney Anderson, Michael Baraldi and Cristal Engel of Colliers International represented Studio 54 owner Allied Partners in the deal that had an asking rent of $46 per square foot.
Later this month, Davenport will surely be upstaged by his fiancée, Tracy Weiler, when they get married on a farm in her hometown of Batesville, Ind.