Converse works out a 70,000 s/f deal on 23rd

Real Estate Weekly,  March 5, 2008  

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GVA Williams announced that athletic apparel manufacturer Converse Inc., a Nike subsidiary, will renew its 23,200s/f lease at 28 West 23rd Street and lease an additional two floors, totaling 70,000 s/f. With asking rents in the $50's per square foot, the term of the lease is 10 years.

Converse will now occupy the top three floors of the 12-story landmark building, located on 23rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. 28 West 23rd Street houses Manhattan's first Home Depot, as well as Marc Ecko Enterprizes and office space for Interpublic and Mattel. Built in 1878, it is the former home of the Stem Brothers Department Store, one of the city's first retail stores.

GVA Williams principals Michael T. Cohen and Andrew Roos own the building and represented themselves in the transaction.

"Converse's expansion serves as a testament to this extraordinary building," said Roos. "It has long been a landmark in the 23rd Street area and we are pleased to see continued interest from major national tenants."

Joseph Thanhauser and Gordon Ogden of Burnam Wood represented Converse in the lease negotiations.

Led by Jerome Cohen of GVA Williams, 28 West 23rd Street went through a major transformation in the 1970's, including a restoration of the building's cast-iron facade and the transformation of the building's courtyard into a replication of the courtyard of the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Pads.

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