Durst Extends Leases for Five Sandy-Battered Front Street Retail Tenants

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Five retail tenants on Front Street, which was hit hard by Sandy, have extended their leases and will remain at the Historic Front Street development, a joint venture of The Durst Organization and Zuberry Development Corporation, The Commercial Observer has learned.

Il Brigante signed again for 1,100 square feet at 214 Front Street, Jack’s Coffee renewed for 536 square feet at 222 Front Street, Aphrodite Cleaners will stay in 600 square feet at 221 Front Street. Dermatologist Dr. Bobby Buka and Donna Gallo re-inked at 220 and 225 Front Street, respectively. All leases are on 10-year terms with the exception of Aphrodite Cleaners, which signed a seven-year lease.

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Il Brigante
Il Brigante

“The majority of these tenants opened on Front Street in 2006,” said Robert Becker, a senior leasing manager at Durst who oversees the Front Street project. “The issue was that the leases only had three years left. Our goal is to have the street look exactly the way it looked initially, so we offered extensions to every current lease.”

Asking rents were around $100 per square foot. “We worked with the tenants one-on-one,” Mr. Becker said, “and offered above market transactions with some terms to induce.”

Superstorm Sandy delivered a severe blow to Front Street, and all of the retail storefronts have been completely renovated in the months since. “I think this will be a real shot in the arm for the entire Seaport,” Mr. Becker said. He added that of the seven original Front Street tenants who have not finalized extensions, Durst has “documents out” with five of them and is still talking to the remaining two.