REBNY Awards Robert K. Futterman & Associates Most Creative Retail Deal of the Year for Marketing & Leasing of The Times Square Building
06/11/2010
06/11/2010
New York, NY – Robert K. Futterman of Robert K. Futterman & Associates (RKF) was awarded the Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) 2009 Most Creative Retail Deal of the Year for the marketing and leasing of The Times Square Building and the creation of a one-of-a-kind entertainment destination at the former headquarters of The New York Times Company in the heart of Times Square. Futterman, chairman & CEO of RKF, together with Joshua Strauss, vice president of RKF and lead leasing agent on the project, represented building ownership, a joint venture between AFI USA and Five Mile Capital Partners, on the deals that comprise this award, and RKF continues to represent building ownership on the retail space at the property.
While Futterman and Strauss were originally tasked with the marketing and leasing of 181,000 square feet of retail space on the ground through second floors, they proposed an unprecedented strategy to the building ownership, adding 73,736 square feet of retail to the building on the third and fourth floors for a total of 254,736 square feet of available retail space. This strategic and creative expansion was a crucial component of the transformation of the long-vacant building into an entertainment powerhouse with multi-level retail spaces and synergistic tenants.
With this strategy, RKF secured two major tenants at The Times Square Building. In February 2009, the firm arranged a 59,254-square-foot lease with Discovery Times Square Exhibition (Discovery TSX), a partnership between Running Subway Productions and the Discovery Channel for New York City’s first large-scale exhibition center. The center includes two exhibition rooms, each with 30-foot ceilings, a café, retail store, learning centers, and event space. Discovery TSX opened in June 2009 with two blockbuster shows.
In December 2009, RKF arranged a 75,336-square-foot lease with Strike Holdings’ Bowlmor Times Square, a complex transaction and one of Manhattan’s largest retail leases in 2009. Strike Holdings had long been in the market for a Times Square presence, and the expansion of retail space at The Times Square Building made this possible. Construction began on Bowlmor Times Square in February 2010, and the multi-level venue designed by CMS Architecture & Design, which pays tribute to New York City, will open in October 2010.
"We are honored to receive this prestigious award from REBNY and are pleased to be noted for the creativity and out-of-the-box thinking we bring to the merchandising, marketing and leasing of retail spaces throughout New York City and around the country," said Futterman. "We recognized the demand for a retail, dining and entertainment hub on 44th Street and Shubert Alley, and proposed to building ownership that we include the ground through fourth floors, basement and sub-basement as retail space at The Times Square Building. This enhanced the overall value of the asset and reinvented and reinvigorated the historic property."
Strauss added, “To date at The Times Square Building, we have commitments for more than 70 percent of the remaining retail space from prominent entertainment-themed retailers and restaurateurs, and interest from tenants exceeding the amount of retail space available. This success is also largely in part to the extraordinary flexibility and willingness of building ownership to work with tenants to make deals happen.”
Located at 229 West 43rd Street, The Times Square Building encompasses an entire block between 43rd and 44th Streets from Seventh to Eighth Avenues and is a 16-story, 773,000-square-foot historic landmarked property.
About Robert K. Futterman & Associates:
The country’s leading independent real estate firm specializing in retail leasing and investment sales, Robert K. Futterman & Associates (RKF) serves a broad spectrum of domestic and global clients in services ranging from national tenant and owner representation to advisory, consulting and disposition. With over $9 billion in aggregate real estate transactions, RKF has been responsible for identifying scores of real estate opportunities throughout the United States for leading American and international chains, retailers, developers and institutional clients. RKF is headquartered in New York with offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Jersey and San Francisco.
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While Futterman and Strauss were originally tasked with the marketing and leasing of 181,000 square feet of retail space on the ground through second floors, they proposed an unprecedented strategy to the building ownership, adding 73,736 square feet of retail to the building on the third and fourth floors for a total of 254,736 square feet of available retail space. This strategic and creative expansion was a crucial component of the transformation of the long-vacant building into an entertainment powerhouse with multi-level retail spaces and synergistic tenants.
With this strategy, RKF secured two major tenants at The Times Square Building. In February 2009, the firm arranged a 59,254-square-foot lease with Discovery Times Square Exhibition (Discovery TSX), a partnership between Running Subway Productions and the Discovery Channel for New York City’s first large-scale exhibition center. The center includes two exhibition rooms, each with 30-foot ceilings, a café, retail store, learning centers, and event space. Discovery TSX opened in June 2009 with two blockbuster shows.
In December 2009, RKF arranged a 75,336-square-foot lease with Strike Holdings’ Bowlmor Times Square, a complex transaction and one of Manhattan’s largest retail leases in 2009. Strike Holdings had long been in the market for a Times Square presence, and the expansion of retail space at The Times Square Building made this possible. Construction began on Bowlmor Times Square in February 2010, and the multi-level venue designed by CMS Architecture & Design, which pays tribute to New York City, will open in October 2010.
"We are honored to receive this prestigious award from REBNY and are pleased to be noted for the creativity and out-of-the-box thinking we bring to the merchandising, marketing and leasing of retail spaces throughout New York City and around the country," said Futterman. "We recognized the demand for a retail, dining and entertainment hub on 44th Street and Shubert Alley, and proposed to building ownership that we include the ground through fourth floors, basement and sub-basement as retail space at The Times Square Building. This enhanced the overall value of the asset and reinvented and reinvigorated the historic property."
Strauss added, “To date at The Times Square Building, we have commitments for more than 70 percent of the remaining retail space from prominent entertainment-themed retailers and restaurateurs, and interest from tenants exceeding the amount of retail space available. This success is also largely in part to the extraordinary flexibility and willingness of building ownership to work with tenants to make deals happen.”
Located at 229 West 43rd Street, The Times Square Building encompasses an entire block between 43rd and 44th Streets from Seventh to Eighth Avenues and is a 16-story, 773,000-square-foot historic landmarked property.
About Robert K. Futterman & Associates:
The country’s leading independent real estate firm specializing in retail leasing and investment sales, Robert K. Futterman & Associates (RKF) serves a broad spectrum of domestic and global clients in services ranging from national tenant and owner representation to advisory, consulting and disposition. With over $9 billion in aggregate real estate transactions, RKF has been responsible for identifying scores of real estate opportunities throughout the United States for leading American and international chains, retailers, developers and institutional clients. RKF is headquartered in New York with offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Jersey and San Francisco.
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