Mah Jongg League Captures Space Near Penn Station
By Terence Cullen May 18, 2015 4:45 pm
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The National Mah Jongg League, the regulatory body for the popular tile game, has inked a seven-year deal for office space in Midtown, Commercial Observer has learned.
The league is taking 2,600 square feet at 450 Seventh Avenue between West 34th and West 35th Streets in its new lease, according to the Kaufman Organization, the building’s landlord. The deal closed at the end of April, and asking rent was $55 per square foot.
“This building has catered to small tenants since its inception,” said Michael Heaner of the Kaufman Organization, who represented the tenant. “We related to them from the minute we met them.”
Barbara Raskob of the Kaufman Organization represented the landlord in-house.
Other tenants in the 491,253-square-foot building include Citibank Real Estate, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and EDM Americas, which CO reported in February 2014 had inked a 3,135-square-foot deal.
National Mah Jongg League is currently located uptown at 250 West 57th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, according to its website. In addition to selling official rule cards, the Mah Jongg-regulating body also answers hand-specific questions and helps replace missing game pieces.
The league decided to exchange its tiles after its current landlord wanted to consolidate its space for larger tenants, Mr. Heaner said.
“They’re falling victim to buildings consolidating larger space,” he said, adding the league’s new office was still in an active location near Pennsylvania Station. “We’re still really convenient transportation-wise.”
