Drug Chain Fills Prescription for Space

NEW YORK CITY-Regional pharmacy chain Duane Reade has committed to a multi-level space at 1350 Broadway, thus completing a retail leasing program at the 25-story office property. Fred Posniak, SVP of W&H Properties, tells GlobeSt.com that the 15,300-square-foot store will showcase the chain’s new prototype.

The Duane Reade follows Sovereign Bank’s lease of 4,000 square feet at the property, announced last October. “Through these two deals, all of the available retail space at the property was leased approximately within the span of a year above leasing projections,” says Posniak in a release. “That’s pretty remarkable in today’s market.”

The space includes part of the ground, second and lower levels, with 20-foot ceiling heights on the ground level and large storefront windows on three sides. It also sports more than 300 feet of wrap-around signage with frontage on Broadway, Avenue of the Americas and Herald Square Park.

Posniak tells GlobeSt.com the space was not carved out expressly for Duane Reade, and other possible tenants for the space included food or soft goods retailers. The tenant, which has been rolling out a “new look” in some of its existing stores, expects to complete build-out on the space this summer, says Posniak. The Duane Reade deal follows the lease last month of another three-level retail space at a different Manhattan crossroads: Sephora’s commitment to 12,000 square feet at AVR Realty’s 5 Times Square for a flagship store.

The 400,000-square-foot 1350 Broadway is undergoing a $53-million upgrade, including a new lobby, renovated elevators, upgraded building systems, renovated air-conditioned public corridors and new restrooms. It’s part of the W&H portfolio and is owned by 1350 Broadway Associates LLC, a partnership led by Peter and Anthony Malkin.

Jeffrey Winick, CEO of Winick Realty, represented Duane Reade in the lease negotiations. W&H was represented by Posniak and a CB Richard Ellis team including EVP Andrew Goldberg, SVP Eric Gelber and senior retail associate Matthew Chmielecki.