Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail closed 2015 securing a lease for the high-end retail brand COS for its first Connecticut location at 283 Greenwich Ave. in Greenwich.
COS was represented by NGKF Senior Managing Director Jessica Curtis and plans to open this summer.
The lease, for 15 years for a space of 3,400 square feet, is in keeping with the NGKF creed of stressing what Curtis recently called “quality over quantity.”
It could be a trend. “Authenticity is the challenge,” said her colleague Peter Fine, NGKF senior managing director. “Larger restaurants and retailers are becoming less appealing. What”™s emerging are gutsy, interesting restaurant concepts and retailers. We focus and trade on those types of tenancies.”
NGKF”™s presence has expanded in the Connecticut area over the past several years with numerous deals in both retail and capital markets. The Connecticut office oversees the management and leasing for 4.8 million square feet of commercial real estate in Fairfield County, and specializes in representing the hedge fund and financial services industries, among others.
Recent deals have included roll-outs for Del Frisco”™s Grille in Stamford in 2015 at Landmark Square, with plans to roll out 10 new Del Frisco”™s and Del Frisco”™s Double Eagle Steakhouse restaurants nationally over the next few years. NGKF Retail represented both landlord and tenant in the Landmark Square transaction.
Barteca Restaurant Group including Barcelona and Bartaco restaurants last year signed leases for three Barcelona restaurants and one Bartaco restaurant bringing the total to 25 new restaurants. NGKF reported expansion is to continue fueled by a recently announced $74 million that was raised in capital and credit by General Atlantic for the restaurants”™ parent Barteca Group.
On the retail front, NGKF has forged deals with Design Within Reach, which relocated its headquarters from California to Stamford. NGKF Retail secured four new studios in 2015 for Design Within Reach, bringing the total number of its studios to 40.
Also regarding retail, Waterworks, a bathroom fittings and accessories company, over the last 12 months used NGKF to sign for new stores in Greenwich, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And NGKF Retail represented Crunch Fitness”™ largest franchisee in Boston, New Jersey and Philadelphia as well as Westchester County. During 2015, NGKF Retail closed on four Crunch Fitness sites and has been tasked with securing locations for a total of 42 new Crunch centers in that territory across the next few years.
Filed under the heading “local deals and significance,” which included the COS and Del Frisco deals, NGKF cited its work on:
- Shake Shack”™s new custom-built restaurant in Darien, the company”™s third location in Connecticut. NGKF Retail represented the Landlord, Baywater Properties, in this deal;
- Saks Fifth Avenue”™s 20,400-square-foot deal at 200 Greenwich Ave., “giving Saks a significant presence on both sides of the street.” NGKF Retail represented landlord 200 Greenwich Ave. LLC in the transaction;
- Betteridge Jewelers”™ relocation from 117 Greenwich Ave. into 12,000-square-feet at 239 Greenwich Ave., quadrupling the store”™s space. NGKF represented both the Landlord, Acadia Realty Trust, and the tenant; and
- Green & Tonic”™s five new storefronts ”“ “Eat, drink nourish” ”“ in Fairfield County, with the most recent one opening soon in Westport. Green & Tonic is reportedly looking to expand further into other communities in the local market.
NGKF also shepherded retail sales at 98-102-108 Greenwich Ave. in Greenwich and at 159-165 Rowayton Ave. in Rowayton.
NGKF among other endeavors also is merchandising and leasing Forest City”™s Ballston Quarter in Arlington, Va., consisting of approximately 120,000 square feet of food and beverage and entertainment space.
NGKF relocated from Greenwich last year to a Stamford office on Washington Boulevard that now is home to 27 employees.
A group of NGKF executives spoke recently to the upswing in retail activity and to other specifics driving the retail market. They included Curtis, Fine, Stephen Westerberg, senior managing director; James Ritman, executive vice president and managing director for office and retail; Christopher Cortese, managing director for office and retail; and Nick Marona, director for retail. All work locally, with Curtis, Marona and Fine additionally collaborating on the Forest City Virginia project.
Westerberg said NGKF fosters both a team and a holistic approach. “We work in tandem with our clients to seamlessly stabilize and market a property.” Citing retail, leasing and investment, he said, “No other firm matches our firm”™s diligence.”
