According to Lee & Associates NYC, the New York office of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services, a privately-held national commercial real estate firm, it represented landlord 52/54 CSQ Realty LLC in an 8,600 s/f lease at 52 Cooper Sq. for MUJI, the Japanese minimalist home accessories retailer. Henry Goldfarb, a vice chairman with Lee NYC, and Stanley Lindenfeld, an executive managing director, represented the landlord. Naomi Okada of Okada & Co. represented the tenant.
MUJI, known for the simplicity of its design and its "pursuit of the pure and the ordinary" to achieve the "extraordinary" has five locations in New York City with the opening of its store near Cooper Union. Its other New York City locations are on Broadway in SoHo, Times Square, Chelsea, at JFK Airport, and in the MoMA Design Stores; it also has a store in San Francisco. The company was founded in Japan in the eighties with 40 products; the derivation of its name translates to: no brand quality goods. It now operates in 23 countries and has over 2000 product lines.
"The new store is scheduled to open in April," said Goldfarb. "We pursued the Cooper Square site for their fifth store in the City because of the high foot-traffic in the area and the population mix of architecture and design students from Cooper Union, office workers with disposable income, and the ever-increasing residential population with new apartments to decorate."
MUJI will occupy 4300 s/f on the ground floor, with a 4300 s/f selling space on the lower level.
The entire space is undergoing complete renovation prior to opening to reflect the clean design aesthetic of its products. According to Lindenfeld, "We welcomed the opportunity to add to the growing retail mix that is transforming the Astor Place and Cooper Square neighborhood to a vibrant office, learning, and shopping destination." The Minskoff Building, designed by Japanese architect and Pritzker Prize winner, Fumihiko Maki, is across the street.
Goldfarb and Lindenfeld have been transaction real estate partners for nearly 15 years representing numerous national and international retailers and apartment owners. Tags: