Red Lobster is rolling into Harlem at 261-267 W. 125th St. to anchor a new project next door to the Apollo Theater.
The ubiquitous seafood chain has leased 9,500 square feet on two levels for a 300-seat restaurant in the new $14 million retail project being developed by Grid Properties and the Gotham Organization in conjunction with the Harlem Commonwealth Council.
Designed by BLT Architects, the 28,000-square-foot project, when completed at the end of the year, will sit diagonally across Eighth Avenue from the trio’s earlier entertainment and retail complex, Harlem USA.
Red Lobster will have a 1,500-square-foot entrance on the ground floor and the entire second level of Harlem USA II.
Brad Cohen and Tom Rettaliata of Ripco Real Estate represented both sides in the deal, which had a ground-floor asking rent of $175 a foot, sources said. CoStar also shows an asking rent of $50 a foot for the second story. Spaces are still available on the ground and lower levels.
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Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias have recapitalized their Mark Hotel conversion with preferred equity from Dune Capital. Dune took over the former Anglo Irish mortgage of $60.78 million and split it into two tranches, while Deutsche Bank has stepped in and extended a new $160 million mortgage.
Senbahar did not return calls for comment, but sources said the group will now proceed with co-op sales at The Mark, a luxury redevelopment of the hotel on the northeast corner of 77th Street and Madison Avenue.
While the conversion enjoys condo rules, it can’t be sold as a condominium as the building is on a ground-lease from the late Sol Goldman that runs until 2131 — another 119 years.
Now that the financing has been restructured, an amendment to the offering plan was filed with the New York state Attorney General’s office last Friday.
Once approved, Corcoran Sunshine will start marketing nine unfurnished units with pricing buoyed by other recent upscale sales, the premium location near Central Park and the available hotel services. Sources said they expect the penthouse to go for about $6,000 a foot with the rest ranging from $4,500 to $5,000 per foot. “We think the market is there,” said our Upper East Side spy.
The French fashion-forward clothing and accessories store Zadig & Voltaire, will be opening soon in the corner retail space next to Brazilian jeweler Jack Vartanian. Jean-Georges also operates the popular restaurant at the Mark.
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Another French retailer, Longchamp, is taking over the 881-square-foot Movado boutique in the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center. The watch retailer previously announced it would close all its stores and will keep this flagship open until the end of its lease this month.
The luxury bags and accessories shop already has a store on Madison Avenue and on Spring Street in SoHo.
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LaSalle Hotel Properties, which purchased the portion of the Park Central Hotel that isn’t a time-share for $92,633,098, filed its corporate ownership as PC Festivus LLC. Its rep didn’t return our call, but we hope they commemorate the “Seinfeld” holiday in a special way.
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American Icon, which celebrates Americana, has signed a lease for 3,200 square feet at 277 Fifth Ave. just north of Madison Square Park. The space includes 1,000 square feet of basement storage. Its new flagpole signage will be visible from the Flatiron Building to the Empire State Building so as to snare trolling tourists and nostalgic New Yorkers.
The retailer opened a spot in TriBeca at 360 Broadway last June and sells everything from Western wear to John Deere toy trucks.
Hal Shapiro of Winick Realty Group represented both the tenant and building owner Mirsal LLC in the new deal.
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CQS US is expanding to the entire 40th floor of 11,000 square feet at Carnegie Hall Tower, with rent starting at $115 a foot. It is currently located in a smaller pre-built on the 41st floor.
The current 40th-floor tenant, Meridian Capital Group, has relocated to a pre-built on a lower floor and recommitted to a longer term with a higher rent that is just shy of $100 a foot.
Paul Revson and Zev Holzman of Studley represented CQS, a branch of the UK multi-asset strategy investors, while Matt Leon of Newmark Knight Frank led the leasing for the building ownership, TF Cornerstone, along with its director of leasing, Palmer Chip Sealy.