Grubb & Ellis serves up deal for Dish Network at 185 Varick

Real Estate Weekly, May 7, 2008 by Jason Turcotte

A downtown landlord has dished out naming rights in part of a 30,000 s/f lease inked at 185 Varick Street for a television satellite company.

The Englewood, Colo. based Dish Network Corp. signed on for two full floors at the commercial building, located between King and Charlton streets. The transaction also included full rights to a roof deck and the option of renting an additional floor. Dish will occupy the 6-story building's top two floors, with an anticipated June move in.

According to Ira Rovitz, a broker at Grubb & Ellis who represented the tenant, he suggested his client put naming rights on the table. He said naming rights were an attractive incentive since the landlord (the Federbush Family) had a strong desire for the tenant to take space there, and had been competing with institutional owners. The stability of the company and the possibility of taking additional space there in the future were also factors in the negotiation of naming rights.

The move marks the first fore into the Manhattan market for Dish, which sought New York space to capitalize on the booming advertising sector here. Rovitz said his client had a strong preference for the downtown market. "They didn't want a traditional Madison Avenue sales office. They wanted a loft-type feel to it," he said.

The building is undergoing some facade work. And, according to Rovitz, Dish will remove a loading dock and install two elevators, which the company will have exclusive access to. Terms of the lease were not disclosed but asking rent was reportedly $46 psf. Other tenants at the 68,476 s/f 185 Variek building--built in 1930--include Dizzy Izzy's New York Bagels and Ensig Press.

Dish Network specializes in Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television products and services. Earlier this month the company also announced its expansion of commercial space in the Phoenix market, where operations at 4811 Thistle Landing will include more than 400 employees.

Rovitz and Lenny Gazda, both of Grubb & Ellis represented Dish. Matthew Bergey and Bruce Surry, both of CB Richard Ellis, represented the owner, 185 Varick Realty Corp.