L&L Holding Company and Columbia Property Trust have secured two major retail tenants for their Terminal Warehouse redevelopment in West Chelsea. Equinox has signed a long-term lease for 50,000 square feet across the lower three floors of the building at 261 11th Avenue. The terms of the lease, including asking rent and duration, were not disclosed.
Convene Hospitality Group (CHG) has also leased 50,000 square feet on the same three floors but in a different section of the historic structure. CHG plans to open an event space called The Mallory, named after George Mallory, the original architect of the building from the 1890s. According to a press release from CHG, office tenants will have access to both a lounge and conference center that are expected to open next year.
The New York Post first reported on CHG’s deal.
These leases are notable as they mark the first new retail tenants since Terminal Warehouse began its $1.8 billion transformation from a late-19th-century warehouse into a mixed-use property with offices, retail areas, food and beverage spaces, and various amenities. Both Equinox and CHG’s spaces will be accessible via a 700-foot tunnel originally built for freight trains moving goods between the Hudson River and rail lines.
The redeveloped building is nearing completion and will feature twelve floors of office space arranged around a central courtyard.
Jeff Roseman of Newmark represented Equinox in negotiations. Rocco Laginestra of CBRE acted for CHG. The landlord was represented by Alan Schmerzler, Catherine Merck, and Sean Moran from Cushman & Wakefield in both transactions.
A spokesperson for L&L Holding Company declined to comment on Equinox’s lease agreement. Equinox did not respond to requests for comment.
L&L Holding Company partnered with Normandy Real Estate Partners to purchase Terminal Warehouse for $880 million in 2018. Columbia Property Trust became involved after acquiring Normandy in 2019. In 2021, the developers obtained a $1.25 billion construction loan—one of the largest real estate loans during the pandemic period.
Despite challenges brought by Covid-19, development continued with plans to introduce over one million square feet of office space within several years.
Recent data indicates improvement in Manhattan’s office market performance. Office leasing volume exceeded 30 million square feet by the third quarter last year—surpassing pre-pandemic levels—and marked the strongest year-to-date demand since 2002 according to Colliers.
