Retail transactions in Manhattan and Brooklyn that run the gamut from luxe to low end and from eats to sweets are vying for prestigious prizes from the Real Estate Board of New York.
The 18 nominations for “Most Ingenious Deal of the Year” cover transactions completed in 2013. Brokers on both sides were nominated for two of the deals but each must show how their work was innovative and important to the city.
Broker David Firestein of SCG Retail was nominated for his work representing Starbucks in the Inwood area of Upper Manhattan, at 4761 Broadway and Dyckman St.
Robin Abrams and Alan Victor at the Lansco Corp. were the brokers bringing the Dennis Basso Flagship to 825 Madison Ave., while James Frederick of Cassidy Turley worked on the Harman International lease at 527 Madison Ave.
The submission, titled “A Marriage Made in (Marketing) Heaven,” brought Polo/Ralph Lauren to 711 Fifth Ave. through Richard B. Hodos of CBRE.
Valentino is “Making a 20-Story Fashion Statement” at 693 Fifth Ave. through brokers Andrew Goldberg, Eric Gelber and Matt Chmielecki of CBRE.
The owners of 229 W. 44th St. were represented by Lon Rubackin and Gary Trock of CBRE in the nomination, “What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: Bringing National Retailer Guitar Center to a Side-Street Sub-Basement off Times Square” at 218 W. 44th St.
The Guitar Center was represented by Bruce Shepard of SCG Retail and his nomination is titled, “Preserving Times Square Music Retail Heritage.”
Two deals in the Herald Square area were nominated. The first, “A New Urban Outlook: Expanding the Boundaries of Herald Square,” was a deal for Urban Outfitters at 1333 Broadway, which was represented by Andrew Goldberg, Eric Gelber and Matt Chmielecki of CBRE.
Susan Kurland and Victoria Oliva of CBRE were nominated for “The Final Jewel in the Crown: The Rebirth of Herald Center and its Market-Changing Effects” on 34th Street for the new H&M at 1293 Broadway.
By Penn Station, Benjamin Fox of Massey Knakal Realty Services represented the building ownership in “David v. Goliath: Using Ingenuity and Due Diligence As a Sling Shot,” for a transaction with Citibank at 442 Seventh Ave.
In “A NYC Retail Journey: Barneys Comes Home” to 107 7th Ave., broker Peter Ripka of Ripco Real Estate Corp. represented the retail condo ownership, while Jeffrey D. Roseman and Barry M. Gosin of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail submitted their work on behalf of Barney’s as, “Seventh Avenue and 17th Street: The Return of Barneys to This Magical Corner.”
On the western end of 17th Street, “Tweet This: Room & Board is Coming to Chelsea” at 249 W. 17th St. was a deal completed by brokers Richard B. Hodos of CBRE, along with Jeffrey D. Roseman and Amy Zhen of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, in the base of the building that Twitter will occupy.
Brokers Joanne Podell and Brandon L. Singer of Cushman & Wakefield, as well as Gary Schwartzman, George Graf, Ken Zakin and Carol Ann Flint of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, were nominated for their work on “The ART of a Deal,” which was a lease for Restoration Hardware’s new RH Contemporary Art at 437 W. 16th St.
In “The Westside Market Goes East,” Ross Kaplan and Stu Morden of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brought the food market to the base of a new apartment building at 82-84 Third Ave. in the East Village.
Brooklyn had three nominated retail deals. Peter Ripka of Ripco Real Estate Corp. represented the owners in bringing several tenants to a new retail condominium at Brooklyn Heights Plaza in “Bridging Brooklyn’s Hottest Retail Neighborhoods.”
Roberto Camacho of Buchbinder & Warren Realty Group represented Jacques Torres in “A Chocolate Factory Is Born In Brooklyn” at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Lastly, Jacqueline Klinger and Chase Welles of SCG Retail represented Whole Foods in its lease for 240 Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg.
The winners of the “Most Ingenious Deal of the Year” and the “Most Significant Retail Deal of the Year” will be revealed June 10 at a cocktail party at the 101 Club at 101 Park Ave.