By Al Barbarino 1/29 7:45am

Sales Beat

450 West 15th Street

Jamestown Properties Pays $284 M. for Milk Studios Building

Jamestown Properties has purchased the Milk Studios building at 450 West 15th Street from Stellar Management for more than $284 million, city records show.

The 325,000-square-foot, eight-story office building, home to photography studio Milk Studios and an eclectic mix of tech, fashion and creative tenants, borders the High Line.

It’s a symbolic and strategic move for Jamestown, which owns the Chelsea Market across the street and looks to expand its footprint in the heavily-traveled Meatpacking District.

Ironically, city records show that Stellar provided a $150 million loan to Jamestown, which suggests that the move was perhaps more than a kind gesture, but also a play to complete the deal before the end of 2012, as imminent capital gains taxes loomed (the city record was filed on Friday, but shows the deed was finalized December 21). Read More

By Alessia Pirolo 12/14/12 6:46pm

Lease Beat

450 West 15th Street.

Giorgio Armani Moves to the Milk Studios Building

Giorgio Armani is getting a view over the High Line. The Italian fashion company has inked a lease for a 60,000-square-foot space at 450 West 15th Street in the Meatpacking District, sources familiar with the transaction confirmed to The Commercial Observer, and is due to move its headquarters and showroom to the space in October 2013. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 12/07/11 2:30pm

Power Broker

Robert Cohen.

Robert Cohen / Robert K. Futterman

As Soho continues its 20-year transformation from bohemian enclave to luxury retail bazaar, brands like Apple and Uniqlo have added to the neighborhood’s near impenetrable aura of luxury and glitz by converting old spaces into fashionable shopping destinations.

But simply boasting a Soho address isn’t always enough for some retailers.To M.A.C. Cosmetics, which operated a storefront on 113 Spring Street for more than 15 years, foot traffic appeared enviously higher throughout the nearby Broadway corridor.

“They were definitely leaving some money on the table by not having all the footfall that Broadway provides,” said Robert Cohen, 39, a Robert K. Futterman & Associates retail broker who represented M.A.C. Cosmetics in its move earlier this year to Broadway. Read More