A planned miniature world in Times Square is a getting some very large new neighbors.
Times Square Attractions Live, LLC inked a 15-year lease for 59,137 square feet at 229 West 43rd Street, a retail condo owned by Jared Kushner’s Kushner Cos., the New York Post reported. The group plans to bring a massive National Geographic-branded “immersive experience” to the multi-level space by next summer.
Earlier this year, Kushner inked a deal with Michael Langer’s E&M Associates to build a 49,000-square-foot miniature world known as Gulliver’s Gate at the Times Square building, which is located between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.
Times Square Attractions Live is a partnership between SPE Partners, a New York City-based entertainment developer led by longtime National Geographic employee Lisa Truitt, and Peterson Companies, a Washington, D.C.-based development firm led by Milton Peterson. His son, Jon Peterson, is a strategic partner of Times Square Attractions Live.
The rent was not disclosed, but ground-floor asking rents in the area are $2,363 per square foot, the Post reported.
CBRE’s Eric Gelber represented Times Square Attractions and previously represented Foot Locker in its lease at 8 Times Square.
Kushner’s Morris Harary, Larry Rabinowitz and Ira Bloom negotiated the deal in-house for the developer, which signed up Gulliver’s Gate for a 49,000-square-foot space earlier this year.
Kushner bought the retail condo from Africa-Israel USA and Five Mile Capital for $296 million in 2015. [NYP] – E.B. Solomont