Red Bull has signed a deal to take 42,000 square feet at 218 West 18th Street. The Commercial Observer first reported the deal this morning and CBRE, the brokerage that handled the transaction, subsequently confirmed it in a statement it released later in the day.
Red Bull is leasing the building’s two retail floors, which together total about 15,000 square feet and two office floors as well, seven and eight, which together total about 27,000 square feet.
One source said that Red Bull would do the deal for rents in the $60s per square foot, a rate that would likely include the cost of the retail space, which generally leases at a premium to offices.
Executives at the building’s landlord, Atlas Capital, could be reached. A spokesman for Red Bull confirmed the deal but wouldn’t comment further.
The location is the Los Angeles-based company’s first New York outpost.
Red Bull plans to use the space, particularly its retail component, which is on the ground and lower level of the property. The company, known for its highly caffeinated energy drink, will house its Red Bull Music Academy and corporate offices at the building and use the retail for events and retail.
Atlas Capital purchased the debt on 218 West 18th Street in partnership with GreenOaks Real Estate Partners earlier this year and foreclosed on the 170,000-square-foot property according to written reports. The building had been largely vacated and gut renovated by former owner Harry Jermias, who eventually fell into foreclosure during the downturn.
As the deal with Red Bull would appear to hint, the difficult days of the recession feel long gone for Midtown South, the neighborhood where 218 West 18th Street is located. The area was cited in recent market reports by Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE as the city’s strongest area of leasing activity, driven by interest from the surging tech and new media sectors.
