Walgreens to create new flagship store at Empire State Building

According to The Empire State Building and Walgreens, they have completed a transaction to benefit the building's neighborhood, tenants, and visitors to its Observatories. Walgreens has renewed its lease on the ground floor of the building's corner at Fifth Ave. and 33rd St., and exchanged 10,000 s/f on the concourse level of the property for 10,000 s/f on the second floor. Walgreens' new Manhattan flagship location's second floor will have an entrance to allow Observatory visitors to enter as they finish their visit, according to Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings. The new space, scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2012, will allow Observatory visitors the opportunity to access the all-glass second-floor area directly from the Observatory exit line. Consequently, Walgreens will be able to serve the millions of people who visit the Observatories each year, allowing them to satisfy their needs before they head back out into the city for the rest of their day, while continuing to provide a valuable amenity for tenants and the general public. Meanwhile, the concourse space that Walgreens is vacating will itself become a new building amenity -- a tenant-only fitness center. "Walgreens is designing a space that will fit in perfectly with the upgraded image of their chain in New York City and our property," says Mr. Malkin. "And it fills a need for our tourist visitors, many of whom are heading back onto the streets with a busy schedule and who have needs that Walgreens will fulfill. Meanwhile, our new tenant-only fitness center will greatly enhance our tenant experience." The chain signed a 15-year renewal for its total square footage, which remains 18,818 square feet. Andrew Goldberg, Eric Gelber and Matt Chmielecki represented the landlord in both the renewal and reconfiguration negotiations. Founded in 1901 and headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Walgreens operates 7,742 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.