The private, for-profit Whittle School and Studios has inked a long-term lease for the entire office space of Tishman Speyer’s The Wheeler in Downtown Brooklyn. The deal comes almost a year after negotiations began.
The Whittle School, a franchise of education entrepreneur Chris Whittle, inked the 20-year lease to occupy the 620,000-square-foot space at the 10-story development, according to Commercial Observer.
Asking rents at the building were between $60 and $70 a square foot when the The Real Deal first reported on the negotiations last March.
Tishman Speyer has been redeveloping the site at 181 Livingston Street since 2016, when it finalized a $270 million deal for the property with Macy’s.
Chris Whittle is also behind the Avenues School in West Chelsea, where the operation has been credited with boosting home prices. Tuition for Avenues School for the 2019-2020 school year is over $56,000.
The Whittle School and Studios plans to open 36 campuses around the world by 2026, including 11 in China. At the Downtown Brooklyn location, the school is planning to open part of its campus this year, while the kindergarten to 12th-grade program will launch in September 2021. [CO] — David Jeans