JC Penney Taking Office AND Retail Space at 200 Lafayette
By Daniel Edward Rosen May 3, 2012 3:30 pm
reprintsNational retailer J.C. Penney is taking the whole shebang at 200 Lafayette Street.
The company has signed a 15-year lease for the entire 130,000-square-foot Soho building, including its 11,500-square-foot retail space, The Commercial Observer has learned.
A recent NY Post report claimed JCP had leased out the office portion of the building, which is co-owned by Jared Kushner, who is also the owner and publisher of The Commercial Observer.
Newmark (NMRK) Grubb Knight Frank’s David Falk, who represented the building along with colleagues Jason Greenstein and Daniel Levine, did not return a phone call requesting comment. CBRE’s Susan Kurland, who was marketing the retail portion of 200 Lafayette, declined to comment, as did Mr. Kushner. Both cited confidentiality agreements as their reasons for not speaking.
The building offers 111,886 square feet of class B office space and 11,500 square feet in retail space, according to CoStar. The NY Post originally reported that JCP leased out 130,000 square feet in the building but not its retail space.
It was unclear if JCP was going to open a new store in the retail portion of the building, or if it was going to put in one of its brands. The company is believed to be using the office portion of the building for corporate functions.
“They own a lot of companies and a lot of brands, so we don’t know which brand it will be,” said a person with knowledge of the deal.
Both Mr. Kushner and CIM Group spent $50 million to purchase the building from John Zacarro in January. The 7-story building is currently undergoing a $30 million capital improvement program, the New York Post reported yesterday.
The asking rent was reportedly $68 a square foot.
JCP allegedly beat out Restoration Hardware, Facebook, Armani, and advertising agency Droga5 for the office portion of the building.
drosen@observer.com
