RENAISSANCE PROPERTIES

The father-son team of Kenneth and Bradley Fishel of Renaissance Properties continues to lease space in the emergence of New York City. With the assistance of the Cohen Team at Newmark, the Fishels have leased significant space across their portfolio.

Before the arrival of the virus, the Fishels’ buildings were almost fully leased. During the devastating impact of the virus, they formulated a plan to release their new vacancy as if they were going to war. The first step was to assemble their army, which included architects, design professionals, public relations, and a contingent of contractors available to get to work right away.

Their battle plan included restoring their historic spaces to pristine condition, showcasing their natural materials, and highlighting the numerous operable monumental windows in each area. Next, they constructed a smattering of pre-built offices in diverse sizes that invited tenants to move in quickly. Prices for the pre-built and the open plan loft spaces were adjusted in line with the market to be competitive and attractive for leasing.

The Cohen team then got to work to show the spaces and successfully leased them. If a prospective tenant indicated they needed a change or addition within the area, the brokers promptly contacted the owners and replied to the tenant immediately.

“We’ve leased to great tenants,” says Bradley Fishel. New leases include Nice Shoes, The Lede Company, Galileo, Healthquarters, NotCo, Bevel PR, and Serengeti Asset Management at 166 Crosby Street for a combined 64,534 square feet. “We just built a $2 million incredible lobby on Crosby Street, which features Joe Coffee, lounge seating, and a bike room. There’s nothing else like it in this market.”

THE START OF SOMETHING GOOD
The Fishels recently hosted an exclusive broker’s event in the newly renovated historic commercial space, 632 Broadway, also known as 166 Crosby Street in Noho. As the pace of New York business activity starts to accelerate out of the Pandemic, Renaissance Properties demonstrated its focus on being one of the leaders in its field with the launch of its revamped lobby at 166 Crosby Street.

The initial purpose of the lobby was to provide a second entrance for 632 Broadway, one of Renaissance’s other four locations in the city. This space comes equipped with a full Joe’s Coffee Bar, plus a bike room to attract businesses and employees seeking sustainable transportation alternatives. The lobby achieves Bradley Fishel’s mission of focusing on sustainability while creating a communal place for employees and entrepreneurs to come together. For building occupants, the 166 Lobby serves as a second welcoming space to gather, caffeinate, and converse, three things we will probably need more of moving forward.

The party concluded with speeches from Bradley Fishel and exclusive leasing agent JD Cohen of Newmark. In a crowd of millennial metropolitans, Cohen exclaimed to an applauding crowd that thanks to Ownership’s foresight and flexibility in response to COVID-19, the team has leased approximately 125,000 square feet since the pandemic hit within RPNY’s building.

Fishel stood tall, not just a proud businessman but a humble son, as he expressed his sincere admiration for his father’s lessons, a man who “taught him everything he knows.” This duo is living proof of the correlation between a strong relationship and a successful business partnership with a forward-thinking outlook and flexibility. As New York businesses seek to move past a year of uncertainty, the grand opening of the new lobby at 166 Crosby Street proved to be a glimpse of hope for what Bradley Fishel coined, “the re-awakening of New York City.”

At their other buildings, the Fishel-Cohen partnership is enjoying similar leasing success. “The Fishels spend money. Period. It shows in their product. Their timeliness, flexibility, and inventiveness are best in class. Tenants have choices, and there is a flight to quality in this type of market. The Fishels have all that it takes to get the deal done.” says JD Cohen from Newmark.

AN EYE TO THE FUTURE
“We’ve kept the best space for last,” said Kenneth Fishel. At 166 Crosby Street, we have the most spectacular space within the downtown market. The area features 36 perimeter windows in a perfectly rectangular classic loft that soars above neighboring buildings. The Fishels are waiting for the “right tenant” to make an offer on the space: “We’ll do whatever we need to do for the right tenant,” adds Fishel.

With an eye towards distressed assets, Renaissance Properties specializes in value-add investments focusing on Prewar Prime Properties. From commercial & retail building ownership to leasing, management, and construction, Renaissance has built its reputation on its people’s superior capabilities and efficiency, its most important resource. With an emphasis on quality and attention to detail, Renaissance brings a high level of comfort and modern technology, including the most elegant build-outs and the fastest services to all their treasured tenants.

For more information on Renaissance Properties, visit renaissancepropertiesny.com