Former JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson’s dream of throwing rooftop parties in Soho is up in smoke — and now the roof is up for rent.
The top floor of 200 Lafayette Street — a chic warehouse space south of Houston Street that Johnson had envisioned as a swanky corporate office-and-retail complex — has just been put up for lease by CBRE, The Post has learned.
No asking rent has been posted, but insiders said the 16,780-square-foot space could fetch $89 per square foot or more, based on the scarcity of cool loft buildings in the neighborhood.
That will lighten the burden for Penney, which had snapped up the entire seven-story building for lease in May 2012 in a 15-year deal with three five-year options that was worth about $8 million a year.
The flailing department-store chain, which ousted Johnson last spring, has already managed to wiggle out of its commitment for the building’s retail space, which spans 30,000 square feet through the building’s basement, ground and second floors.
That’s because General Growth Properties, which acquired the building from Big Apple property scion Jared Kushner last October for $148.75 million, is letting Penney off the hook.
GGP believes it can rent out the retail space for as much as $6 million, according to sources.
Penney, meanwhile, is still renting the building’s fourth, fifth and sixth floors to house teams of fashion designers, according to insiders.
Johnson’s execs had underestimated the cost of renovating the building, which was further increased by delays following Hurricane Sandy, sources said.
The seventh floor is a “highly improved, built full floor with glass-fronted offices, conference rooms and a unique high-end pantry,” according to the new listing on the real estate website CoStar.
The space has “incredible exposed brick and wood beams throughout and great light and air,” according to the listing.
The building owner is also working on plans for a shared roof deck while the lobby and entrance will be upgraded.
The 130,000-square-foot former industrial loft building was purchased for $50 million in January 2012 and redeveloped by Jared Kushner and CIM with another $5 million-plus investment.