Sonder Inks Deal for First Brooklyn Outpost
By Nicholas Rizzi June 4, 2021 4:27 pm
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Short-term rental startup Sonder — which recently agreed to go public — will open its first Brooklyn outpost in Gowanus, landlord Red Pine Capital Partners confirmed.
Sonder signed a lease for the entire 29,000-square-foot Gowanus Inn & Yard at 645-651 Union Street, The Real Deal first reported.
Red Pine declined to provide the length of the lease, only saying it was “long-term,” but asking rent was $70 per square foot.
“We are privileged to be partnering with Sonder on its flagship location in Brooklyn,” Red Pine’s Michael Federman said in a statement to Commercial Observer. “The lodging industry is poised for a rapid rebound from the pandemic and our hotel will reach even greater heights utilizing the springboard of the Gowanus rezoning.”
Sonder will take over from the 76-room Gowanus Inn & Yard, which opened in 2018 and remained working through the pandemic, Federman said.
The buildings’ retail spots are vacant and Sonder will open its Brooklyn outpost after Red Pine makes improvements to the building.
Sonder’s Brooklyn outpost comes less than a month after the startup agreed to go public through special acquisition company (SPAC) Gores Metropoulos II at a $2.2 billion valuation.
Despite laying off a third of its staff at the outset of the pandemic and facing lawsuits from Manhattan landlords, Sonder was still able to reach unicorn status in July. It also reopened the Flatiron Hotel in April, which it first leased in 2019, and inked a deal for the entire 43-room Duane Street Hotel in May.
Cayuga Capital Management’s Robin Scott brokered the Gowanus deal for both sides.
Scott declined to comment, and a representative from Sonder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
