Jared Epstein and Bobby Cayre

As longtime landholders in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District and along its Gan-sevoort Street, Aurora Capital Associates’ leaders beamed with pride when discussing how they landed a flagship Yves Saint Laurent location last September, signing the luxury brand to a 15-year deal at more than $500 a square foot. 

It was another sign of the strength of the luxury retail resurgence. But when Bobby Cayre and Jared Epstein talk about landing the icon, they go back years to the return of the restaurant Pastis to their empire on cobblestone-lined Gansevoort Street. 

“We’re not about rent, we’re about long-term vision,” said Cayre. “We’re able to do that, to bring in loss leaders, to focus on the energy of the neighborhood.”

The family office found that careful curation helped them capture an upswing in high-end retail in the last year, smartly positioning their Meatpacking District holdings while bolstering efforts to do more with office and residential. There’s been constant activity among fashionable tenants, including Sandro, Maje and Aesop, and a new store for the classic camera brand Leica just opened. 

Aurora has benefited from a constellation of public attractions and art centers in the neighborhood, but they’ve also been shrewd about seizing different angles as the area evolves. Their office spaces, including the fully leased 40 10th Avenue, have been lively despite the moribund nature of corporate leasing, and new acquisitions such as the triangular 675 Hudson Street offer more singular, historical real estate to attract top brands. 

The firm finished leasing its 111 Charles Street space that just opened in the West Village, and another condo project in the neighborhood, on Jane and West streets, is under construction. 

Epstein wants to start another chapter in the Meatpacking District with a renewed focus on entertainment, underscoring Aurora’s vision of writing the narrative for its own neighborhood. 

“Nightlife is going to be an important part of the story going forward,” he said. “The neighborhood probably wouldn’t maintain its cool factor with just the luxury tenants.”