British Haute Couture Fashion House Ralph & Russo Opening First NYC Store on UES
By Lauren Elkies Schram March 20, 2018 1:30 pm
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Ralph & Russo, a British haute couture fashion house, is opening its first New York City store at 680 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side.
The company yesterday leased 5,800 square feet of retail space at the base of the property between East 61st and East 62nd Streets, a spokesman for the landlord, Thor Equities, told Commercial Observer. The space comprised 2,300 square feet on the ground and 3,500 square feet on the second floor, he noted.
The deal is for 15 years with an asking rent of $1,500 per square foot on the ground, the spokesman said.
“This favored brand of royalty, Hollywood stars and A-listers is the ideal fit for 680 Madison Avenue, a premier retail building located on the city’s most upscale shopping corridor,” Joseph Sitt, the CEO of Thor Equities, said in prepared remarks.
Ralph & Russo’s new space will be a flagship, according to WWD, which broke the news of the lease.
Thor’s Sam Polese, Albert Dayan and Alexandra Frangos represented the landlord in-house in the deal. David Baker of Isaacs and Company represented the tenant. Baker didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Luxury fashion designer Tom Ford occupies 12,300 square feet in the building for its flagship Manhattan store, luxury men’s brand Brioni is in 7,000 square feet and eyewear collection Morgenthal Frederics has 650 square feet. Art gallery Barrington Fine Arts occupies 4,000 square feet of the space that Ralph & Russo has leased and will relocate to 4,250 square feet within the building, the Thor spokesman said.
Thor bought the leasehold for the 35,526-square-foot retail condo on the first two floors of Extell Development’s luxury residential tower for $277 million in 2013, according to The Real Deal, and pays $3.5 million in annual ground rent. Last year, Thor secured a $310 million financing package for the property, comprising a $215 million senior loan from J.P. Morgan Chase, and a $95 million mezzanine piece, as CO reported in August 2017.
