Chera and Barker of Crown Retail rep. Planet Fitness in 20,000 s/f lease; Stein and Vacker of Himmel + Meringoff act for landlord

Planet Fitness, operators of fitness franchises throughout the country, will open its Manhattan flagship in Chelsea early next year at Himmel + Meringoff Properties' 158 West 27th St., the 12-story, 117,000 s/f office building acquired by H+M last December that subsequently underwent a multi-million dollar capital improvement program. Planet Fitness, which currently operates its only New York City fitness center in Harlem on 125­ St., committed to a 20,000 s/f, 15-year lease for the building's entire retail and second floor, which includes the lower level. Richard Chera and Jordan Barker of Crown Retail Services represented Planet Fitness in the transaction. Move-in is scheduled for January 1st. "This will be Planet's first center in Manhattan south of 96th St.," said Mark Stein of Himmel + Meringoff Properties, who together with Jason Vacker negotiated the transaction on behalf of the landlord. "We are thrilled that they opted to establish their second Manhattan center in our property in Chelsea." The deal is also the second leasing transaction at the building since H+M's acquisition. It follows Gracious Home's 10,000 s/f lease signed last April to occupy the top floor, and it brings the building's occupancy up to 92%, with only the fourth floor remaining vacant. Himmel + Meringoff Properties is a privatively- held New York based real estate investment firm that currently owns and operates more than 2 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space. The firm's principals, Ms. Himmel and Mr. Meringoff, have been acquiring properties since 1979. Himmel + Meringoff Properties long-term investment strategy is based on successfully identifying and evaluating well-located but under-performing properties and structuring complex transactions that are often highly customized to meet the disposition objectives of the property's owners. The company's strategic approach to acquisitions includes joint ventures, net leases with options to buy, partial sale leasebacks, tax free exchanges and all cash fee purchases. ###