Baby clothing shop Carter’s has inked a 4,211-square foot retail lease at 215 West 125th Street in Harlem and expects to open in July, Commercial Observer has learned.
The location, between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards, features more than 40 feet of frontage and gives the retailer, which has existing stores in Brooklyn and Queens, its first Manhattan outpost.
“Its presence in Harlem makes a critically important statement because it reflects the revitalization of this well-established family-focused neighborhood,” said Henry Goldfarb of Lee & Associates, who represented the landlord, Cogswell Realty, with Stanley Lindenfeld.
The space sat vacant for about two years before the brokers locked in the right tenant, they said, noting that they passed on a number of restaurants and national food brands to fill a gap along 125 Street that had yet to be filled – despite the strip’s “exciting transition” over the last several years.
“It’s a great brand and will increase the cache of the neighborhood,” Mr. Lindenfgeld said. “The neighborhood still needs certain family services that we don’t have a lot of right now and both the tenant and landlord felt strongly that this would be very profitable.”
The brokers, who forged a partnership some 15 years ago, said they began expanding their work from “Manhattan proper” into Harlem about seven years ago, bringing a number of mom and pop shops to the area – including food/drink establishments Keur Sohkna Restaurant, Just Lorraine’s Place and El Caribe – before national brands began to trickle in.
Today neighboring retail includes Starbucks, Aerosoles, MAC, Payless, Children’s Place, American Apparel, Ashley Stewart, Lane Bryant and Champs, while Whole Foods is scheduled to open in the vicinity.
Marc Durst of Sholom & Zuckerbrot represented the tenant and the asking rent was $130 per square foot.
