Meatpacking ‘watches’ it
THE
ritzy Meatpacking District — roughly defined as the area from West 14th Street to Gansevoort Street and from the Hudson River to Hudson Street — is about to become even ritzier with two high-end watchmakers opening shop in the Manhattan neighborhood once known for its slaughterhouses.
Two luxury horological brands, Audemars Piguet and Rolex, have signed leases for boutiques within just a few blocks of each other.
Audemars Piguet will wind up on the upper level of a petite, twostory building at 56-58 Gansevoort St. The spot comes with a 200square-foot lobby and elevator next to Keith McNally and Ste
phen Starr’s celebrity-magnet restaurant Pastis.
From there, the Swiss timepiece seller will have 5,171 square feet on the second floor, plus a huge, 2,543-square-foot terrace where it can check its sundial.
Dan Harroch, senior vice president of Thor Retail Advisors, represented the tenant while Joel
Isaacs, founder and president of Isaacs and Company, represented the building.
Owners Aurora Capital Associates and William Gottlieb Real Estate are currently redeveloping nearly the entire block and have already signed other luxury brands, including chichi accessories emporium Hermès.
The blended asking rent was around $150 per square foot, sources said.
The exclusive, Swiss-based company, founded in 1875, also has a boutique on Billionaires’ Row at 65 E. 57th St.
Nearby, watch king Rolex will envelop the entire 3,950-squarefoot corner at the base of Soho House at 29 Ninth Ave. and West 13th Street.
Sources say that Rolex partner company Bucherer, which in 2018 bought Tourneau — an outfit that bills itself as the largest US luxury-watch seller — will operate it as just a Rolex store.
The trailblazing history of Rolex dates to 1905, when timepieces lived in the pockets of folks’ clothing and were attached by chains.
It was then that the distributor, 24-year-old Hans Wilsdorf, decided to invent something that could be worn on the wrist.
A deep thinker and early brander, Wilsdorf used a gold crown as its logo.
By 1908, after testing numerous words that could work in all languages, Wilsdorf claimed a “genie” whispered the word “Rolex” in his ear.
And by 1924, he had partnered with the watchmaking Bucherer family, a relationship that continues today.
Rolex has a stand-alone flagship at 665 Fifth Ave., but also boasts numerous official retailers.
Until 2016, the space hosted Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s popular Spice Market restaurant. Dean & Deluca tried a short-lived Stage café there, but it closed after just a few months as the company faced other financial issues and Midtown Equities piled on with a lawsuit for $20 million in back rent and other charges.
Court documents show that legal action is still underway.
The adjacent space was rented to furniture store Vitra and had been considered for a MedMen pot dispensary but is still vacant.
Jack Terzi of JTRE is wrapping up his long-running court battle to buy the historic building at 23 Wall St. from its Chinese owners for north of $150 million.
Rather than buy the property outright, he’s availing himself of a court settlement allowing him to lease it for 99 years and simply pay rent.
The building, which was built by Gilded Age financier J.P. Morgan and housed his private offices, has been coveted by a series of potential owners hoping to fill the 150,000 square feet with luxury retailers as well as office tenants.
As first reported here, Terzi signed a contract in August 2016 to buy 23 Wall St. from Singaporebased China Sonangol. That company paid $150 million in 2008 to previous owner Africa Israel, which had turned the tower above into market rentals.
Hermès does so well there that it recently renewed its 2007 lease, sources said.
The nine or so stories can host offices and retailers in numerous configurations, and the building runs from the landmarked 23 Wall St. downhill and around the corner of Broad Street and into portions of the base floors of both 33 Wall St. and 15 Broad St.
Terzi and his lawyer,
Michael Berengarten of Herrick Feinstein, declined to comment, while the defendants’ lawyers declined to comment or did not return requests for comment. We can only hope that more retailers finally fill in these dark spaces by the New York Stock Exchange.