Malkin Raises the Ante for 2011: 490K Feet at Empire State Building
By Laura Kusisto January 27, 2011 5:25 pm
reprints
The Empire State Building is no stranger to grand entrances, but Li & Fung managed to muster an extra dash of drama.
The Hong Kong-based clothing conglomerate has signed a 490,000-square-foot lease in the iconic tower-easily the biggest lease of the young year, and also trouncing all the leases of 2010.
The middleman for manufacturers and retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart will take several floors in the Empire State Building, the Post reported. Both sides have been negotiating since last spring, and have reportedly been close to a deal since August. The long-term lease includes rents ranging from the mid-$40s a square foot to the high $50s, according to CoStar.
Li & Fung already leases large blocks in Malkin Holdings’ 1333 Broadway and 1359 Broadway, which it plans to keep. (Malkin Holdings controls ESB landlord W&H Properties.)
Cushman & Wakefield‘s Mitchell Konsker and Alexander Chudnoff, who recently left the firm for Jones Lang LaSalle, represented the tenant. The landlord was represented by William Cohen and Ryan Kass of Newmark Knight Frank.
lkusisto@observer.com
