Laboz, Chera and Chehabar buy Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s

Al Laboz isn’t leaving his holiday shopping until the last minute.

A group of investors headed by Laboz’s United American Land bought the 440,000-square-foot Macy’s space in Downtown Brooklyn. Laboz and his partners, Isaac Chera of Crown Acquisitions and the Chehabar family of the Jackson Group, plan to redevelop the historic property at 422 Fulton Street.

“We’re excited to acquire this incredible and storied property, and the future possibilities of developing it into world-class retail spaces, as well as location-based entertainment that will transform the Fulton Street Mall,” said Laboz, who chairs the Fulton Mall Improvement Association and is running point on the development.

Laboz declined to reveal the price, but said the area’s mass transit and the more than 23,000 new residential units in the area make the site a “tremendous location.”

The deal appears to be confirmation that Macy’s plans to close the Fulton Street location. The retailer in February announced it would shutter 150 Macy’s stores by the end of 2026 to focus on better-performing brands like Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury.

By some estimates, Macy’s real estate is worth more than the company’s $4.6 billion market capitalization. The Downtown Brooklyn location had been rumored to be on the chopping block for more than a decade as Macy’s adapted its business to the changing retail environment.

But instead of closing the location, Macy’s downsized and upgraded.

The company in 2015 sold the store’s upper floors for $270 million to Tishman Speyer, which constructed 622,000 square feet of office space across 10 floors above.

As part of the deal, Tishman agreed to contribute $100 million toward the renovation of Macy’s remaining four floors.

Tishman’s portion of the property, dubbed The Wheeler, signed a lease in 2021 with St. Francis College to be its sole tenant. The school took 255,000 square feet.

Retail has been making a comeback after being shunned by investors for a long period. Blackstone last month struck a deal to buy a portfolio of retail buildings in Soho for $200 million. It was the biggest investor-led retail purchase in Manhattan since 2021.

Laboz, meanwhile, has long been an active investor in retail space across the city as well as Downtown Brooklyn. His company has spent three decades putting together an assemblage totaling nearly 380,000 square feet on the block catty corner to the Macy’s store.