George Comfort & Sons, Inc. announced today that it has finalized an agreement with Urbanspace, the team behind some of New York City’s most popular markets, to open a new food hall on the ground floor of 135 West 50th Street, its 925,000-square-foot Midtown tower.
Under the 20-year lease, Urbanspace will open its newest location in 15,000 square feet across a portion of the ground floor and basement level of 135 West 50th Street with entrances on both 50th and 51st Streets making for a seamless connection to Avenue 6 ½. Urbanspace will take control of the space in the first quarter of 2020, and the food hall is planning to open in Summer 2020.
Urbanspace cultivates creatively rich environments where local makers collaborate, exchange ideas and showcase their wares. The company’s current New York City locations include popular food halls Times Square Market, Urbanspace Vanderbilt and 570 Lex, as well as seasonal pop-ups Union Square Holiday Market, Holiday Shops at Bryant Park and Mad. Sq. Eats.
“As part of our repositioning of 135 West 50th Street, it was essential that we identify the right retail tenant that complemented and enhanced the progressive environment we are curating at the tower,” said George Comfort & Sons President and CEO Peter S. Duncan. “Urbanspace has a successful track record of producing elevated public spaces with high-quality options and distinct design, which made it the perfect fit for our reimagined retail space.”
Mr. Duncan, Alexander Bermingham, Matt Coudert and Andrew Conrad represented George Comfort & Sons in-house, while Gordon Ogden and Benjamin Mohr of Byrnam Wood, LLC, represented Urbanspace in the transaction.
Apart from the food hall, George Comfort & Sons is working with architecture and design firm Gensler on an extensive renovation program, which will reinvigorate the tower for today’s urban environment. Improvements include the transformation of retail spaces and storefronts, creation of airy lobbies and entrances, installation of double pane windows and construction of a brand new 20,000 square foot amenity space on the second floor and a new 24th floor Skybox with a large private terrace for a single large block user.
Located in the heart of Midtown, 135 West 50th Street sits at the epicenter of New York’s prominent corporate headquarters neighborhood along the energetic Sixth Avenue corridor. It is easily accessed by major subway lines and some of the city’s most iconic destinations, like Central Park and Rockefeller Center, are just a short walk away.
About George Comfort & Sons, Inc.
Founded in 1919, George Comfort & Sons, Inc. in its 100th year, specializes in acquisitions, asset and property management and brokerage, and offers full service leasing, construction and finance capabilities. It owns and operates a commercial real estate portfolio of approximately 13.5 million square feet nationwide. In addition to its New York headquarters, it has offices in Purchase, NY and Stamford, Conn. For more information about George Comfort & Sons, Inc., please visit www.gcomfort.com
