Day Care Center Vivvi Opening 7K-SF Outpost at 254 East 68th Street

The company signed a 15-year deal for 6,919 square feet on the ground floor of Rudin Management Company’s 254 East 68th Street, according to the landlord. Rudin declined to provide the asking rent.

“Our newest Vivvi location will bring a much-needed resource to families that live and work in one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in New York City,” Dylan Mattes, vice president of real estate at Vivvi, said in a statement. “With its excellent strategic location and optimal physical layout, it’s the perfect addition to our portfolio of campuses.”

Rudin handled the deal in-house via Kevin Daly, while Mattes and CBRE (CBRE)’s Jordan Kaplan, Jared London and Eric Gelber negotiated on behalf of Vivvi. 

The Upper East Side location will be the sixth in the city for Vivvi once it opens in spring 2023, which has locations in Tribeca, Hudson Yards, the Financial District, Midtown and Dumbo, Brooklyn. The brand plans to expand to Washington, D.C., and Boston.

Demand for day care centers is high in New York City, according to Kaplan, with many of the existing organizations stretched too thin in terms of resources and some communities in need of more providers. Vivvi’s new location near the Second Avenue Subway is a potential antidote to parental woes, Kaplan added.

“It really was the perfect place to plant their flag in the Upper East Side. It also gives them flexibility to potentially do something even further uptown,” Kaplan told CO. “There just isn’t enough high-quality childcare [in New York City], they’re tired, they don’t have the same quality of staffing that Vivvi brings to the table. [Vivvi schools] are built out to look like the Apple Store of day care centers.”

Designed by Emery Roth & Sons and developed by Rudin in 1974, the 174-unit residential unit at 254 East 68th Street has a newly renovated lobby, a fitness center and a parking garage.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.