Crain's New York Business - December 17, 2012 - (Page 21)

IN THE BOROUGHS QUEENS Queens may yet take the High Line Continued from Page 3 FROM AROUND THE CITY QUEENS Park, parts of Forest Park and Forest Hills before terminating in Rego Park. It is the line’s proximity to the backyards and ball fields of those neighborhoods that Queens park advocates say makes reactivation a nonstarter. “The [right of way] runs next to hundreds, if not thousands of homes,” said Andrea Crawford, chair of the Friends of QueensWay, a nonprofit group of community activists. “Residents don’t want the noise pollution or the potential danger of speeding trains.” Instead, she and others in the community want the decrepit eyesore to blossom as a park, one that would become part of a green corridor linking up with bike lanes leading to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Gateway National Recreation Area and other parks. An online petition created by the Friends of QueensWay has garnered more than 2,000 signatures in support of its “rail to trail” proposal. The group has gained momentum of late by partnering with the Trust for Public Land, a San Francisco-based conservation group that is trying to line up donors to fund a feasibility study for the park. The objectives will be to determine the current condition of the land, the cost of a conversion to a park and annual maintenance costs. Astoria hops on beer bandwagon RAIL VS. TRAIL: Longabandoned railroad bridge could one day carry cyclists or commuter trains, not both. Cutting commuting time On the other side of the issue are residents of Rockaway,many of whom were pressing for improved transit links long before Sandy surged ashore. They insist that restoring rail service would more than halve commuting time to Manhattan for residents of Howard Beach, Ozone Park and Rockaway. Reviving the line would restore service to Rego Park. There, commuters could pick up the LIRR’s main line into midtown and free themselves from the circuitous 90-minute route of the A train. George Haikalis, a civil engineer and head of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, the nonprofit transit group spearheading the reactivation, says he foresees a high-speed rail link from midtown to JFK as well as to the huge Aqueduct racino in Ozone Park. “Providing transportation to these neighborhoods is an engine for economic development,” said Mr. Haikalis. That’s something these communities need.” The hard part would be the estimated halfbillion-dollar cost of replacing tracks, signals and bridges, as well as building new stations. For either vision to come to fruition, political support and funding will need to be secured, something both parties are hoping to accomplish within the year. Astoria boasts one of the city’s more popular beer gardens, the Bohemian. Now it also can lay claim to New York’s newest craft brewery. SingleCut Beersmiths, at 19-33 37th St., tapped its first kegs earlier this month, serving three-ounce tastes to a local crowd. It also began selling 64-ounce growlers to go and delivering its first wholesale orders to bars and restaurants across the borough. SingleCut—part craft brewery, and future taproom and live music venue—is the brainchild of former advertising executive Rich Buceta, a Queens native and longtime home brewer. His search for a brewery location nearly landed Mr.Buceta in Rockland County.But after a deal there fell through, he found a 5,000square-foot space in a former warehouse in Astoria that he began gutting in March. To flesh out the looks of the place, he went to Vermont. There he looked at several craft brewpubs in search of inspiration. “People who are really into craft beers want a local place where people can come in and try new beers,” said Brian Dwyer, assistant brewer at SingleCut. SingleCut does not yet sell pints for consumption on-site, but Mr. Dwyer said that that is something that will happen one day. —cara eisenpress REAL ESTATE DEALS Old Times Building nets young tenant philip murtha in-house by Adam Goldenberg and Josh Glick. —amanda fung BARE BONES F Cosmetics chain cuts Lush deal Canada-based cosmetics chain Lush has just signed on for its fourth city outpost, a 10-year deal for 3,500 square feet at 783 Lexington Ave., between East 61st and East 62nd streets. The deal includes 1,100 square feet on the ground floor, 1,400 square feet on the second floor and a 1,000-square-foot basement. The asking rent for the ground floor was $545 per square foot. The enduring allure of high-end department store Bloomingdale’s is drawing a new generation of retailers to the neighborhood, according to brokers. In recent years, trendy apparel store Superdry and cupcakes purveyor Sprinkles have both set up shop nearby. “Lush’s presence in the neighborhood further enhances the Lexington corridor and helps solidify it as a top location,” said Peter Braus, the Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services broker who, along with colleague Garry Steinberg, represented landlord 783/15 Lex Associates. Opening this summer, the uptown store will be Lush’s first outpost here with a spa. The first floor will be dedicated to retail, while the ledgling tech firm 10gen is moving up in the world. It is ditching its cramped office in SoHo for a new headquarters space in the old New York Times Building on West 43rd Street that is more than twice as large. The software company, which develops databases for corporations, has signed a five-year lease for roughly 29,400 square feet. The asking rent could not be determined, but in June brokers told Crain’s that rent in the building was somewhere between $70 and $80 per square foot. The tenant has been searching for a permanent home since February, according to Greg Taubin, a broker at Studley who, along with colleague Gabe Marans, represented 10gen. The five-year-old tech firm had been subleasing 13,000 square feet from Scholastic Corp.at 578 Broadway.Its first choice was to remain in SoHo, or at least in midtown south. “But due to the scarcity of such space,they were forced to look elsewhere,” said Mr. Taubin, adding that the landlord of 229 W. 43rd St., Equity Office, an affiliate of Blackstone Group, was able to accommodate the company’s desire for a short-term lease and its potential need for more space in the near future. The firm was given the option to expand into the remaining 30,000 square feet on the fifth floor during the five years of its lease, according to Mr. Taubin. “They were flexible,” he said, adding that the landlord was also “generous with buildout cost” for the space. Equity Office recently renovated the space and added a basketball court and other tech-friendly perks to lure more tenants like 10gen. 10gen was founded by New York City tech honcho Kevin Ryan, DoubleClick co-founder Dwight Merriman and Eliot Horowitz, also from DoubleClick. So far, it has raised $81 million in funding. The firm is expected to move into its bigger digs in April. Equity Office was represented 155 SIXTH AVE. ASKING RENT; TERM: $40s per square foot; two years SQUARE FEET: 5,000 SUBTENANT; REP: Urban Compass; Ethan Silverstein of Cushman & Wakefield SUBLANDLORD; REPS: Arup; Ken Fishel and Aliza Weston of Legacy Commercial Real Estate BACK STORY: The startup tech firm started by Robert Reffkin, a Crain’s 40 Under 40 in 2011, will sublease the space at the corner of Spring Street in SoHo from global engineering firm Arup. 2373 BROADWAY ASKING RENT; TERM: Undisclosed; long-term lease SQUARE FEET: 12,200 TENANT; REP: Banana Republic; Ariel Schuster of RKF LANDLORD; REP: Texwood Investments Inc.; Joshua Strauss of RKF BACK STORY: The apparel retailer will close an existing store at 2360 Broadway and open a location on the ground and second floors of a luxury residential building, according to The Commercial Observer. 200 FIFTH AVE. ASKING RENT; TERM: $500 per square foot; 10 years SQUARE FEET: 7,700 TENANT; REPS: Lego Systems; Andrew Kahn and Jonathan Scibilia of Cushman & Wakefield LANDLORD; REPS: L&L Holdings; David C. Berkey and Andrew Wiener of L&L Holdings BACK STORY: The toy company will open a flagship store in January 2014 in a building that was once known as the International Toy Center, according to the New York Post. second level will offer spa services. The company, which boasts allnatural bath and beauty products, has more than 840 retail outposts worldwide. Joseph Isa of Winick Realty Group represented Lush. —adrianne pasquarelli December 17, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 21

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's New York Business - December 17, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
OPINION
GREG DAVID
ALAIR TOWNSEND
REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crain's New York Business - December 17, 2012