NEW YORK CITY — Footwear retailer Manolo Blahik will open a 9,947-square-foot retail and office lease in Manhattan. The property with include 4,942 square feet of retail space and 5,005 square feet of office space. David Thomas Design will serve as the project architect for the interior build-out of the store. Ariel Schuster, Ben Birnbaum and Peter Shimkin represented Manolo Blahik in the lease negotiations. The landlord is 717 Madison LP The store is slated to open later this year.
Leasing Activity
EASTON, PENN. — Quick-service restaurant Playa Bowls has signed a 2,000-square-foot retail lease in Easton, an eastern suburb of Allentown. The restaurant serves fruit bowls, smoothies, soups, salads and other items. The space is located within the Lower Nazareth Commons Shopping Center, an approximately 90,200-square-foot retail center located at 3770 Dryland Way. Target anchors the retail center, and other tenants include Petco and Burlington Coat Factory. Scott Horner of Colliers International represented the Playa Bowls in the lease negotiations. The landlord, Regency Centers Corp., was represented internally.
Merritt Properties Signs Tenant to 137,350 SF Lease Within Industrial Park in Northern Virginia
by Alex Tostado
MANASSAS, VA. — Merritt Properties has signed an undisclosed e-retailer to a full-building, 137,350-square-foot lease within I-66 Business Park, a six-building property in Manassas. Merritt expects to deliver the property in April and the tenant expects to move in this summer. Tony Russo and Diane Drobia of CBRE represented the developer and the full-building user in the lease transaction. When complete, the six buildings on the property will range in size from 30,600 to 137,350 square feet. Michael Larkin of Merritt says the company will begin construction on the sixth and final building in April and expect to deliver it in the third quarter of this year. The building will span 97,200 square feet. At full build-out, I-66 Business Park will comprise 596,900 square feet. To date, the property is 83 percent leased to 11 tenants. The buildings offer 18- to 32-foot clear heights. Each property is rear loaded and provides dock and drive-in capabilities. Situated along Interstate 66, I-66 Business Park is located 28 miles west of Washington, D.C.
CHICAGO — The Guidepost Montessori at Magnificent Mile School is more than doubling its lease at Optima Signature, an apartment tower in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. The school will lease an additional 14,000 square feet, which is the last available retail space at the property, in order to open an elementary school. The school plans to open this fall and serve first through fifth grades. In addition to Guidepost Montessori, retail tenants at Optima Signature include Egg Harbor Café, GoodVets Streeterville, Runaway Fitness and Bedazzled Nails & Spa. Optima Signature is a 57-story, 490-unit luxury rental development. Optima Inc. is the developer.
LENEXA, KAN. — Barre workout franchise Pure Barre has leased 1,521 square feet at The District at City Center Lenexa in Kansas. The location is expected to open in June. Pure Barre has more than 500 studios across North America and Canada. The company features four group class formats that offer workouts focused on low-impact, high-intensity movements. There are two existing Pure Barre locations in the Kansas City metro area. Erin Johnston of Copaken Brooks represented the landlord, Copaken Brooks. When fully developed, City Center Lenexa will consist of more than 2 million square feet of office, retail and residential space.
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Kuehne & Nagel, a global transport and logistics firm based in Switzerland, has signed a 267,902-square-foot industrial lease renewal at 1800 Waters Ridge Drive in the northern Dallas metro of Lewisville. Steve Trese and Wilson Brown of CBRE represented the landlord, Teachers Insurance & Annuity of America, in the lease negotiations. Blake Anderson of Savills represented the tenant.
KINGWOOD AND COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Breakfast eatery Snooze will open two new restaurants totaling 7,800 square feet, one in the northern Houston suburb of Kingwood and the other in College Station. The first restaurant will be located in the Kingwood Place Shopping Center and will span 3,800 square feet. The second will be located within Chimney Hill Retail Centers in College Station and will total 4,000 square feet. The openings are slated for August 2020 and February 2021, respectively. Houston-based Baker Katz represented Snooze in both lease negotiations. Stephen Tou of The Retail Connection represented the landlord in the Kingwood deal, and Clint Oldham and Brett Boatner of Oldham Goodwin represented the landlord in the College Station deal. Since its founding in 2006, Snooze has opened more than 40 restaurants across six states.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Holt Lunsford Commercial has negotiated an 8,817-square-foot industrial lease at 1415-1421 Hutton Drive in the northern Dallas suburb of Carrollton. Josh Barnes and Canon Shoults of Holt Lunsford represented the landlord, Frontier Equity, in the lease negotiations. Michael Haggar of JLL represented the tenant, Aquabella LLC.
NEW YORK CITY — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated a 19,358-square-foot office lease for mental healthcare provider AbleTo Inc. in the Garment District of Manhattan. The space is located on two floors at 230 West 37th St. AbleTo’s previous headquarters was located on two non-contiguous floors in the same building. Fred Smith, Thomas Burrus and Elizabeth Ughetta of NKF represented AbleTo in the lease negotiations. The landlord, Sioni Group, was self-represented.
Butler Enterprises Signs Anthropologie to Lease at Butler Town Center in Gainesville, Florida
by Alex Tostado
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — Butler Enterprises has signed Anthropologie to an 8,750-square-foot lease within Butler Town Center in Gainesville. Butler expects the space to be ready by this fall. The store will be situated off Archer Road across from The Cheesecake Factory. Anthropologie has more than 200 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, and, according to its website, caters to “sophisticated and contemporary women aged 28 to 45.” The retailer sells women’s apparel and accessories, home décor, furniture and gifts. The 450,000-square-foot Butler Town Center is situated on 267 acres adjacent to Butler Plaza and Butler North, which are both fully leased and combine to span 1.7 million square feet.