Jockey Opening First NYC Location at Staten Island’s Empire Outlets
By Nicholas Rizzi January 29, 2019 11:53 am
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Underwear retailer Jockey plans to set up shop in New York City at the outdoor outlet mall under construction on Staten Island’s waterfront, Commercial Observer has learned.
Jockey signed a 10-year lease for 2,744 square feet in BFC Partners’ nearly 1.1-million-square-foot Empire Outlets project, in St. George for its first Gotham outpost, a spokesman for the developer said.
The clothing company will open when Empire Outlets completes construction in the spring. BFC’s spokesman would not provide the asking rent in the deal, but sources previously told CO the average asking rent in the development is $125 per square foot.
Casandra Properties’ James Prendamano represented BFC in the deal and Jockey did not have a broker.
“With sales in the underwear market segment expected to reach nearly $150 billion by 2021, it made perfect sense to ink this deal with Jockey, America’s foremost undergarment brand,” Prendamano said in a statement.
BFC started construction on Empire Outlets—the first outlet mall in the city—on a former parking lot adjacent to the St. George Ferry Terminal in 2015. The $352 million development will have 100 outlet shops, a 1,250-space parking garage and hotel. Brands like Levi’s, Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom Rack and Gap Factory have already inked space in the project along with eateries Shake Shack, Artichoke Basille’s Pizza and the food hall MRKTPL.
“The addition of Jockey brings us another step closer to delivering an unparalleled lineup of retailers at Empire Outlets, which will soon become the premier shopping and dining destination in the five boroughs,” Joseph Ferrara, a principal of BFC, said in a statement.
The opening date for the project has been pushed back numerous times over the years, something Ferrara previously told CO was caused by “unforeseen construction delays.” BFC moved the date yet again in October 2018 to April 2019, NY1 reported.
Empire Outlets was to be located next to the planned New York Wheel, which aimed to be the largest Ferris wheel in the world, but developers officially pulled the plug on the 630-foot-tall observation wheel in October 2018.
