Fashion Designer Cuts a Deal to Relocate in Garment District
By Tobias Salinger November 18, 2014 4:00 pm
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Women’s fashion designer Donna Morgan will move three blocks south in the Garment District through a seven-year, 8,272-square-foot lease at the Kaufman Organization‘s 132 West 36th Street, Commercial Observer has learned.
The company, which designs outfits ranging from wedding dresses to casual wear, will occupy a showroom and office on the north side of the eighth floor of the structure between Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Kaufman officials expect them to relocate from 530 Seventh Avenue in February 2015 at the building where asking rents run in the high $40s per square foot, they said.
“Donna Morgan will be a great fit at 132 West 36th Street, which is rapidly establishing itself as a premier destination for prominent designers,” said Barbara Raskob, director of leasing for Kaufman, in a prepared statement. “The building’s open layouts appeals to designers because it affords them creative freedom to utilize each space to suit their individual needs. While some designers opt for large showrooms, a brand like Donna Morgan which operates both within a wholesale and on-line presence loves the open layout allowing the space to have the look and feel of high tech and casual environment.”
Ms. Raskob and Kaufman President Steven Kaufman represented the landlord in-house in the transaction, while Brian Neugeboren and Marc Schoen of the Schoen group at Savitt Partners negotiated on behalf of the tenant.
“We did some other deals on the side streets recently; a lot of these fashion tenants like a creative-type space,” Mr. Schoen said, noting tenants’ growing interest in offices on side streets. “They get that real loft feeling of a downtown building in the Garment Center.”
Fellow designers Catherine Malandrino, Sachin & Babi and Carmen Marc Valvo also have space in the building, Kaufman officials said.
