Carlyle and Crown strike new deal for 666 Fifth retail

Real Estate Weekly, June 3, 2009

The ownership of the retail property at 666 Fifth Avenue has struck a deal to recapture the corner portion of the former Brooks Brothers store, while simultaneously satisfying the expansion needs of Abercrombie & Fitch, one of the property's existing tenants.

Abercrombie, which last year leased the Brooks Brothers corner and a portion of the second floor for its abercrombie kids concept, will be moving into the space being vacated by Hickey Freeman. The announcement was made by Cushman & Wakefield, the exclusive leasing agent for the retail at 666 Fifth Avenue.

"The deal is a great one for all parties. Abercrombie increases its frontage from 40 to 53 feet and expands its ground floor space from 4,400 to 5,400 s/f on the avenue. And ownership regains the spectacular southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, which is probably the best corner space on Fifth Avenue," said C. Bradley Mendelson, who along with Alan Schmerzler and David A. Green make up the Cushman & Wakefield Retail Services Team responsible for the property's leasing campaign.

The deal allows C&W to market the corner space, measuring 8,500 s/f on the ground and 19,517 s/f on the second floor, with double-height, all-glass 28-foot high storefronts, and 200 feet of uninterrupted retail frontage.

The space, which represents most of the former Brooks Brothers store, can also be expanded up to 200,000 s/f, creating an incredible opportunity for a global retailer to establish a department store presence.

Laura Pomerantz of PBS Realty Advisors represents Abercrombie. She said, "We had been closely watching the Hickey Freeman situation, and when it became apparent that their space was going to be available, we chose to significantly increase our frontage and visibility. My client could not be more pleased with how things developed."