Cohen Brothers Realty leases 56,000 s/f retail space to Saks & Co. at Tower 57; Represented by Mendelson and Schmerzler of Cushman & Wakefield and Horowitz

December 22, 2015 - New York City
Tower57, AKA 135 East 57th Street - New York, NY Tower57, AKA 135 East 57th Street - New York, NY
Charles Cohen, Cohen Brothers Realty Corp. Charles Cohen, Cohen Brothers Realty Corp.

New York, NY After years of turning down offers that he viewed as “not the right fit” for the retail space that formerly housed the flagship store for the now defunct discount clothing retailer, Daffy’s, at Tower57, AKA 135 East 57th St., owner/developer Charles Cohen has finally landed the tenant of his dreams.

Cohen has signed a 16-year lease with Saks & Company for the entire 56,000 s/f space, which comprises 2,000 s/f of street-level footage and two below grade concourse levels spanning over 54,000 s/f. The department store chain expects to open one of its popular Saks OFF 5TH stores at the site in March, 2016. It will mark the first OFF 5TH store to open in city.

“The addition of a new Saks store in this strategic location will be a dramatic game changer for 57th St. retail east of Park Ave.,” said Cohen, whose decision to keep his prime store space vacant until “the right tenant” came along, was ultimately rewarded after a wait of more than three years.

Hudson’s Bay Company’s chairman Richard Baker negotiated the long term leasing transaction on behalf of his retail chain directly with Cohen, who was also represented by Brad Mendelson and Alan Schmerzler of Cushman & Wakefield, together with Marc Horowitz, senior vice president and national director of office leasing at Cohen Brothers Realty Corp.

Founded in 1867 and headquartered in Birmingham, AL, Saks & Company is a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated and the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, an American luxury department store chain owned by the Canadian retailer, Hudson’s Bay Company. 

As part of the Hudson’s Bay Company brand portfolio, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH is a world-class destination for true fashion at extraordinary value. The retailer’s 91 stores and e-commerce division, saksoff5th.com, combine the two great joys of shopping: the delight of discovering the best in luxury and the thrill of finding a deal. A shopping experience of curated off-the-runway trends, exceptional service, and savings on the biggest names in fashion, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH leads the market as the premier luxury-value destination.

Cohen heads a multi-faceted real estate development company that owns and manages over 11 million s/f of class A Manhattan, West Side Los Angeles and Houston commercial space. Among his New York commercial properties are 623 Fifth Ave., 135 East 57th St., 805 Third Ave., 750 Lexington Ave., 3 East 54th St., 475 Park Ave. South and the D&D Building at 979 Third Ave.