Eataly’s delayed move to 4 World Trade Center could be the reason the Italian food market hasn’t yet finalized a lease to expand its corporate headquarters at 45 West 23rd Street, close to its flagship location at 200 Fifth Avenue.
Mario Batali’s food complex is supposed to move into its new offices — where it plans to expand to 17,000 from 3,000 square feet — this summer, the New York Post reported.
Eataly’s move into a 41,000-square-foot location at 4 WTC hasn’t yet been finalized after Westfield and the Port Authority didn’t agree on whether or not the construction was finished, according to the Post.
Some sources have told the newspaper that the 365,000-square-foot retail space at the World Trade Center isn’t 90 percent leased, as Westfield has claimed. This could mean that Westfield is unwilling to open the retail portion “in stages,” the newspaper reported. Michael Kors, Hugo Boss and John Varvatos have also leased space at the location.
A Westfield spokesperson told the newspaper that the project is 90 percent leased, but that “spaces have not yet been delivered to Westfield. A Port Authority insider, however, told the newspaper that the space had been handed over in February. [NYP, 1st] — Claire Moses