Sophie Smolen, 27
Leasing representative at BXP
When tenants at BXP’s GM Building visit the Savoy Club — which has a spin studio, a yoga room and a gym — they’ll partly have Sophie Smolen to thank.
Smolen had a big hand in transforming the 35,000-square-foot space previously occupied by FAO Schwartz. Smolen had a big hand in transforming the 35,000-square-foot space previously occupied by FAO Schwartz. As a junior member of the team tasked with the project, that involved meeting with the building’s tenants to get a sense of what they wanted to see, and working with the marketing and construction teams along the way.
“There was a lot of new product in the market, and the brand of just the GM Building wasn’t enough to sell the building anymore,” Smolen said. “We wanted to remain competitive in the market.”
It worked. Smolen said the addition of the amenity space helped convince a financial services tenant — which she said she couldn’t name — that was toying with the idea of leaving the property to renew its deal.
But it’s not just the GM Building that Smolen has made her mark on. She’s also worked on office deals at BXP’s 767 Fifth Avenue, 399 Park Avenue, 250 West 55th Street, 599 Lexington Avenue and Dock 72 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Smolen, too, handled the landlord’s entire retail portfolio and helped its tenants navigate the COVID-19 crisis by offering them concessions to survive through the pandemic, many of which have led to 10-year renewals.
“We always say at BXP we don’t want vacant space, it’s not good for the streetscape,” Smolen said.
Smolen grew up in Bucks County, Pa., and then went to the University of Maryland’s business school. After graduating, she got a job in sales in the health care industry, but quickly realized it wasn’t for her. A few of her friends got into commercial real estate — specifically at Cushman & Wakefield — and she landed a job as an executive assistant at the brokerage before working up to associate. She stayed there for nearly four years before joining BXP in January 2022.
Smolen lives on the Upper East Side with her husband, and says she enjoys travel, cooking and playing pickleball in her spare time.
