L&L Holdings secures two leases with New Balance and Ann Gish

According to L&L Holdings Co., two retailers have just signed leases to open their first area stores this coming spring at 150 Fifth Ave. in the Flatiron District. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. has leased the retail corner at 20th St. and Fifth Ave. comprising 4,817 s/f of street level and 1,778 s/f of below grade space. In the other transaction, Ann Gish, Inc. has leased 4,211 s/f of ground floor and 1,084 s/f of lower level space on the 20th St. side of the building. "These deals demonstrate the continued vibrancy and strong appeal of the Flatiron District," said L&L principal David Levinson. L&L executive vice president David Berkey represented New Balance Athletic Shoe as well as the landlord in the long term retail leasing transaction while Adam Jonas and Neal Ohm of CS Commercial represented Ann Gish, Inc., with Berkey and Michael Blum of CBRE representing the building owner. Levinson also noted that the neighborhood is also now benefitting from, "being anchored to the north by the hugely successful Eataly market at 200 Fifth Ave." According to Berkey, all of 150 Fifth Ave.'s retail space, which includes current tenants LensCrafters and Manhattan Photo, is now 100% leased. Built in 1888, the architecturally distinctive 11-story office building was chosen by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater New York as the renovated building of the year in 2004. It is surrounded by upscale restaurants, hotels and stores and is easily accessible to public transportation. Co-founded by principals Levinson and Robert Lapidus in 2000, Manhattan-based L&L Holding Company, LLC is a privately owned real estate investment company with a current portfolio in excess of 5.5 million square feet of office space primarily in Manhattan.