Rather than renew a lease for part of its office space, Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders, or SAGE, has purchased a second condominium at 305 Seventh Avenue in Chelsea.

The non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults, bought the 9,267-square-foot sixth floor at the building between West 27th and West 28th Streets from Pedersen Design Group. The$7.6 million deal closed on Feb. 22 and was recorded with the city on March 1, property records indicate.

On Feb. 1, SAGE obtained $7.8 million in revenue bonds through Build NYC Resource Corporation backed by Bank of New York Mellon, public records show, the majority of which was used for the acquisition. SAGE had been leasing the floor as it outgrew its space on the 15th floor.

In September 2010, SAGE bought the 15th floor in September 2010 for $2.7 million, according to Rudder Property Group’s Michael Rudder, who along with colleague Mike Heller, represented Pedersen in the transaction.

Pederson, who is an investor, had purchased the floor in 2007 for $3.3 million, records show.

Savills Studley’s Richard Eaddy, Stephan Steiner and Ira Schuman represented SAGE.

Eaddy said via spokeswoman: “We were pleased to work with the senior management at SAGE to negotiate a purchase and assist in the financing through Build NYC for this important acquisition, which allowed them to borrow at a rate lower than most corporations. We look forward to continuing to work with our client to ensure that its real estate meets its future needs.”

The 20-story office condo building, which spans 156,000s square feet, was erected in 1920. Last December 2016 the Services for the Underserved sold its 19,200-square-foot office condo spanning the seventh and 10th floors to different buyers. Workers United NY/NJ Regional Joint Board bought the seventh floor for $7.1 million, and Dr. Connie Lie of Gramercy Gynecology picked up the 10th floor for $7.2 million. CO reported at the beginning of this year that Services for the Underserved, a charity that helps the disabled and homeless, signed a 31,607-square-foot lease at 463 Seventh Avenue between West 35th and West 36th Streets.

“Both symbolically and practically, SAGE’s recently completed purchase of the sixth floor says that we’re here for the long haul,” said SAGE Chief Executive Officer Michael Adams. “Ownership brings many benefits to SAGE. Most importantly, it means that the millions of dollars we would have otherwise spent in rent over the next couple of decades can now be redirected to our advocacy work for the older LGBT community.”

Shanghai Shenda America has signed a 12,015-square-foot lease at Adler Group’s 550 Seventh Avenue to triple its offices, Commercial Observer has learned.

The company, a global textile manufacturer based in China, will occupy the entire 15th floor of the 25-story Art Deco building between West 39th and West 40th Streets, which was one of the four floors that Donna Karan International occupied until 2015. Shanghai Shenda plans to use the space for its showroom and office.

The asking rent in the 10-year transaction was in the $60-per-square-foot range. The manufacturer is moving in the summer from 463 Seventh Avenue between West 35th and West 36th Streets, where it has nearly 3,922 square feet. 

Kaufman Organization’s Michael Heaner and Sam Stein are the exclusive leasing and marketing agents for the building, and David Levy and Jeff Buslik of Adams & Co. represented Shanghai Shenda.

“Adler Group committed to a strategic repositioning campaign, one that showcased the building’s history as a premier fashion destination, but also rebranded the property to attract firms that crave social spaces conducive to creativity and innovation,” Heaner said in prepared remarks. “To that end, we have been successful in securing leases with traditional fashion houses, like a Shanghai Shenda, and with the creative [technology, advertising, media and information] firms.”

The landlord recently modernized communal spaces, such as the lobby, and renovated façade as part of an ongoing renovation of the building. And Shanghai Shenda was attracted to the building as it was near its current location and offers more space.

“Shanghai Shenda… needed a larger space to accommodate its growing practice in New York,” Levy, a principal of Adams & Co., said in a statement. “The company also wanted to remain in the Garment District near like-minded tenants and Manhattan’s numerous transit options.”

In June 2015, fashion icon Donna Karan stepped down from her position as chief designer from her eponymous brand, which was owned at the time by French fashion house LVMH. Donna Karan International then vacated its nearly 50,000-square-foot space on the 14th through 17th floors of the building, as CO previously reported. LVMH sold the Donna Karan brand in July 2016 to G-III Apparel Group for $650 million.

In addition to Shanghai Shenda’s lease, Kaufman recently inked 12,015-square-foot full-floor deals with TheaterMania and InVision Communications for the 16th and 17th floors, respectively. The 12,015-square-foot 14th floor is the last remaining available space that Donna Karan occupied.

Apparel manufacturer David Peyser Sportswear has expanded its offices to 28,000 square feet at Adams & Co.’s 4 Bryant Park in Midtown.

The outerwear and sportswear designer agreed to a 10-year deal to extend its lease on the entire 14,000-square-foot 12th floor while also expanding to the entire 14,000-square-foot 10th floor at the 12-story, 180,000-square-foot building at the southwest corner of West 41st Street and Avenue of the Americas, adjacent to Bryant Park.

Asking rent in the deal was $68 per square foot, according to The Real Deal, which first reported news of the deal. Representatives for Adams & Co. confirmed the transaction and the terms to Commercial Observer. Adams’ David Levy brokered the deal in-house for the landlord, while Cushman & Wakefield’s Charles Borrok and Stephen Burke represented the tenant. A spokeswoman for C&W did not immediately provide comment.

David Peyser Sportswear, which markets both the Weatherproof Garment Co. outerwear and MV Sport sportswear brands, has offices spread across several locations in the Garment District, according to TRD. The company will be consolidating its offices at the Adams & Co.-owned 463 Seventh Avenue into its expanded digs at 4 Bryant Park, the publication reported.

Other tenants at 4 Bryant Park, also known as 1071 Avenue of the Americas, include Sharp Entertainment, Bardwill Industries and Unzipped Apparel Sales. Adams is also deploying property management technology platform Equiem at the building, having previously utilized the firm’s tenant services portal at properties including 110 West 40th Street.

Popular fast casual restaurant chain Dig Inn is opening up its 15th Manhattan location at 463 Seventh Avenue near Penn Plaza, Commercial Observer has learned.

Dig Inn signed a 15-year deal for 3,156 square feet at the base of the 22-story, 479,000-square-foot building at the northeast corner of West 35th Street, according to sources with knowledge of the transaction. The eatery, which is expected to open in May, will occupy more than 1,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space and roughly 1,800 square feet of lower-level basement space.

Asking rent in transaction was $350 per square foot, sources said. Landlord Adams & Co. was represented in-house by David Levy while Neal Ohm and Michael Cohen of RKF handled the deal on behalf of Dig Inn.

Levy, a principal at Adams & Co., said in a statement that the farm-sourced restaurant’s new outpost will provide professionals, residents and tourists in the Penn Plaza area with “healthy food selections in a convenient location.”

“Modern consumers are seeking accessible, health-conscious dining options, and welcoming a second Dig Inn to this district will achieve both goals,” he added, referencing the chain’s existing location several blocks north at 1407 Broadway in the Garment District.

RKF’s Ohm confirmed the deal to CO. “Dig Inn is really excited to enter into this trade area,” he said. “It’s a great step for the brand and they look forward to having a successful location.”

Office tenants at 463 Seventh Avenue include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, The Doneger Group and Adjmi Apparel Group.

Retail leases, like New Yorkers hiding from inhospitable weather, kept a low profile from mid-February to mid-March. The top five leases only accounted for 64,156 square feet and ranged from a big bank buy to new food options.

J.P. Morgan Chase came out on top with 24,000 square feet of retail space at 390 Madison Avenue. Combined with 16 full floors of office space, the firm took a whopping 436,905 at the property, which takes up a full block between East 46th and East 47th Streets, just north of Grand Central Terminal. The retail space will host a Chase Bank on the ground floor.

Next up is T.J. Maxx, which added 19,000 square feet on the fourth floor at 250 West 57th Street. The discount retailer now leases 47,000 square feet at the building and extended its lease for an additional 12 years.

The reimagining of South Street Seaport continues full sails ahead as Noho Hospitality Group signed up for 11,000 square feet, joining Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Chang, who will open restaurants at the $731 million redevelopment project. The group’s lease is for the pier’s first floor and mezzanine level.

Over at 35A Bay Street, on Staten Island, Lighthouse Point Market signed a 15-year lease for 7,000 square feet. The market will open in fall 2018 at the base of the 12-story building and will sell produce and prepared foods. The operator, Sam Choi, also owns Cafe Manhattan, a grab-and-go food spot and buffet at 35 West 45th Street.

Finally, Dig Inn is taking 3,156 square feet at 463 Seventh Avenue. This will be the fast-casual restaurant’s 15th location, and as if to mark the occasion, it signed a 15-year lease at the 22-story, 479,000-square-foot building at the northeast corner of West 35th Street.

Clothing designer and manufacturer Adjmi Apparel Group is renewing and expanding its office space at Adams & Co.’s 463 Seventh Avenue in the Garment District to nearly 48,000 square feet, Commercial Observer has learned.

In the first of two separate lease transactions, Adjmi’s Consolidated Children’s Apparel division signed a 10-year deal to renew its 23,785 square feet of space across the entire fourth floor of the 22-story, 479,000-square-foot building at the northeast corner of West 35th Street, according to sources.

The division, which wholesale manufactures children’s apparel, has occupied the space for 10 years and uses it to house a showroom as well as offices. The renewed lease will commence at the beginning of next year.

Additionally, another Adjmi subsidiary, activewear designer IFG Corporation, will be moving its offices to occupy the entire fifth floor of the building, also spanning 23,785 square feet. IFG signed a 10-and-a-half-year lease that will commence this July, and is slated to relocate that month from its current offices at Empire State Realty Trust’s 1400 Broadway, sources said.

The fifth-floor space was previously occupied by fellow apparel manufacturer David Peyser Sportswear, which consolidated operations at Adams’ 4 Bryant Park after expanding its footprint at that property by 14,000 square feet earlier this year.

Asking rent in both 463 Seventh Avenue deals was $52 per square foot, sources said. Adams & Co.’s David Levy represented the landlord in-house, while brokerage Benchmark Properties represented both tenants.

In a statement, Levy said 463 Seventh Avenue has proven “appealing for design and innovation-minded tenants looking to attract top talent in and around Manhattan”—citing the property’s transit-centered location, recently upgraded lobby and improvements to its elevator and security systems.

Representatives for Benchmark Properties did not return a request for comment.

Other office tenants at 463 Seventh Avenue include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and fashion industry consultancy The Doneger Group.

Dig Inn, the New York-based healthy fast-casual food chain, has nailed down two more Manhattan locations—one on the Upper East Side and one in Noho, Commercial Observer has learned.

At 1319 First Avenue between East 70th and East 71st Streets, the seasonal, farm-to-table food chain signed a ground-floor lease for 1,500 square feet. The location caters to employees at the area hospitals, RKF‘s Neal Ohm and Michael Cohen, who represent Dig Inn in the New York metro area, told CO. At 691 Broadway between Cook and Debevoise Streets, Dig Inn took 1,800 square feet on the ground floor, targeting New York University students, the brokers noted. The two new locations bring Dig Inn’s store count in New York City to 20, as per Dig Inn’s website.

“We feel it’s their time,” Ohm told CO. “They have a great concept and their brand is coming to fruition in this market. I think people’s eating habits are skewing to it.” And, he said, the chain “modernized” its branding a couple of years ago and “made the stores more approachable,” by tweaking the color palette, the font and improving the throughput.

Both leases were signed in May for a length of 15 years. They are slated to open six months from now. At 1319 First Avenue, the broker approached the landlord, the Zabar family-affiliated Lori Zee Corp., so there were no other brokers and no asking rent, the RKF brokers said. Dig Inn will take space that housed Cafe Luka, before the eatery moved next door.

In the lease at 691 Broadway, Michael Gleicher, formerly a broker at Winick Realty Group before leaving the industry, represented the landlord, Anthony Leichter. Dig Inn’s space was previously occupied by Spencer Gifts, a gag-gift shop. The asking rent was $200 per square foot, Cohen said. A spokeswoman for Winick didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

NoMad-based Dig Inn signed three other deals this year in Manhattan at 100 West 67th Street, 412 Greenwich Street and 463 Seventh Avenue, and the company plans to open another three or four in Gotham this year, Ohm said. Outside of Manhattan, there is a Dig Inn in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, one in Rye Brook, N.Y., and three in Brooklyn.

Swimwear manufacturer In Mocean Group is growing its headquarters at 463 Seventh Avenue to more than 53,000 square feet after inking a lease for an additional 23,785 square feet at the Garment District office building, Commercial Observer has learned.

In Mocean signed a 10-year deal last month for the entire ninth floor at the 22-story, 478,000-square-foot property at the northeast corner of West 35th Street. The new lease adds to the company’s existing 29,659-square-foot presence across the 15th, 20th, 21st and 22nd floors at 463 Seventh Avenue, to take its total footprint at the building to 53,444 square feet.

In Mocean is expected to move into the new ninth-floor space, which it will use for offices and showrooms, next May. Asking rent in the deal was $52 per square foot, according to representatives for landlord Adams & Co. Adams Principal David Levy represented the firm in-house in negotiations while the tenant had no outside broker representation.

“463 Seventh Avenue is an ideal location for large companies like In Mocean Group to house all departments in one location,” Levy said in a statement, citing the property’s “close proximity to major mass transportation hubs” including Pennsylvania Station and Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Other tenants at the building include clothing manufacturer Adjmi Apparel Group, fashion industry consultancy The Doneger Group and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Milliman, an international actuarial and consulting firm, has taken digs at 463 Seventh Avenue at the northeast corner of West 35th Street, Commercial Observer has learned.

The 1947-founded firm—which has offices at One Penn Plaza—signed a 16,750-square-foot lease for the entire 19th floor in the 22-story 478,800-square-foot office building, per the landlord, Adams & Co. The deal is for 16 years and the asking rent was $52 per square foot.

“We are adding a new location due to our growth, and will still have a presence at One Penn,” a Milliman spokesman said.

Adams & Co.’s David Levy represented the landlord in-house, and Savills Studley’s Daniel Horowitz, Jeffrey Peck, Ira Schuman and Jacob Stern represented the tenant.

Millman will take possession of the space on Jan. 1.

“Demand for space at 463 Seventh Avenue has been robust in 2018, with approximately 14 leases signed in 2018,” Levy said in prepared remarks. “The building offers tenants access to our Adams-branded Equiem platform, which provides a digital-amenities network for firms located in the building.”

Tenants in the building, erected in 1925, include clothing manufacturer Adjmi Apparel Group, fashion industry consultancy The Doneger Group and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. And as CO reported last month, swimwear manufacturer In Mocean Group is growing its headquarters at 463 Seventh Avenue to more than 53,000 square feet after inking a lease for an additional 23,785 square feet at the Garment District office building.

A spokeswoman for Savills Studley said the brokers declined to comment.

Update: This story has been edited to reflect that Milliman took the space at 463 Seventh Avenue as an additional office.

A staffing firm will ditch the Lower Manhattan for the Garment District.

Core Staffing Services signed a 10-year lease to take 8,056 square feet on part of the 18th floor of Adams & Co.’s 463 Seventh Avenue between West 35th and West 36th Streets, Commercial Observer has learned. Asking rent in the deal $58 per square foot, a spokesman for Adams & Co. said.

The recruitment company, founded in 1988, will move its headquarters from 40 Wall Street between Nassau and William Streets in August, according to the Adams & Co. spokesman.

Adams & Co.’s David Levy represented the landlord in-house. Michael Zaleski of Zaleski Properties brokered the deal for Core Staffing Services. Zaleski declined to comment.

Levy said in a statement that the 22-story building “was the ideal location” for Core Staffing because of recently completed renovations to the lobby and elevators “that will provide a comfortable and convenient environment for the firm to seamlessly and successfully execute its business.”

Other tenants in the property, which was built in 1925, include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, clothing manufacturer Adjmi Apparel Group and fashion consultant The Doneger Group.

Women’s apparel designer, importer and wholesaler By Design inked a deal to move its offices to 463 Seventh Avenue in the Garment District, Commercial Observer has learned.

By Design signed a seven-year lease for 15,445 square feet on part of the second floor of the 22-story building between West 35th and West 36th Streets, landlord Adams & Co. said. Asking rent was $49 per square foot.

The fashion company, known for making sweaters, plans to move its New York City offices and showroom from 1450 Broadway in October, according to Adams & Co. The firm also has a showroom in Los Angeles.

David Levy of Adams & Co. handled the deal in-house for the landlord while JLL’s Amanda Bokman and Seth Godnick represented By Design. A spokesman for JLL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“463 Seventh Avenue continues to attract a wide variety of tenants in the fashion, nonprofit and professional services industries,” Levy said in a statement. “Given its central location along what was once known famously as ‘Fashion Avenue,’ the building offers easy access to convenient transportation options, top-of-the-line facilities and appealing neighborhood lifestyle attractions such as the Moxy Hotel’s rooftop bar and Times Square.”

Other tenants in the 478,800-square-foot 463 Seventh Avenue include clothing manufacturer Adjmi Apparel Group, swimwear designer In Mocean Group, fashion industry consultancy The Doneger Group and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

The In Mocean Group isn’t putting its swim trunks away this September.

The manufacturer of InMocean swimwear is expanding its headquarters at 463 Seventh Avenue to more than 59,000 square feet, Commercial Observer has learned.

Nobody’s saying that there were no blockbuster, billion-dollar real estate deals over the last year. (**Cough** Blackstone! **Cough, cough.**) But, since March of 2020, New York’s office stock seemed to be sadly left out of the mix.

Yes, One Vanderbilt signed incredible leases. But a lease (even an amazing, record-setting one) is a different animal than a sale. Manhattan was once dotted with seemingly effortless billion-dollar-plus office trades. It was the safest, most prudent investment that could be made. There was only so much Manhattan. It was the real estate equivalent of the catechism.

The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services is trading the Theater District for the Garment District.

The organization, which provides mental health care and housing to New Yorkers, relocated this month from 135 West 50th Street to 12,230 square feet on part of the 18th floor of the Arsenal Company’s 463 Seventh Avenue, Commercial Observer has learned. 

In late August, we started to feel that maybe — just maybe — this whole inflation thing was under control. It was just possible that we got past the worst of it in one piece.

Nope.