Manhattan’s The Seaport hires new leasing team

Since Howard Hughes Corp. acquired the South Street Seaport that was originally developed by The Rouse Company in the Eighties, it’s made some significant changes.

Now it has brought in a first-class leasing team to the half-million-sq.-ft. property known simply as The Seaport.

JLL Retail New York leasing team of Davie Berke, Corey Zolcinski and Michael Remer will be handling the property’s retail leasing along with JLL vice chairman Patrick Smith. SVP Catherine Loy will direct specialty leasing and EVP Erika Schanke will co-ordinate global tenant pursuits.

Just last fall, HHC opened The Tin Building following a renovation that turned this central fixture of the old Fulton Fish Market into a foodie paradise in Manhattan’s Financial District. More than 20 restaurants, grocery markets, retail shops, and bars now fill the space whose development was directed by world-renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

The Seaport’s Pier 17--which originally featured Eighties football star Doug Flutie’s Oyster Bar and Restaurant—now holds three chef-driven restaurants, an iPic Theater, and the South Street Museum. Its rooftop now draws crowds to a summer concert series.

“The Seaport is one of New York’s most charming neighborhoods,” said JLL’s Smith. “As the global retail market continues to recover and reinvent itself, we will be looking to build on the ecosystem already in place with flexible terms for unique and relevant concepts and carefully selected long-term anchors.

According to JLL’s Q1 2023 NYC retail report, the city’s retail sector is benefitting from a surge in tourism with the number of domestic and international visitors expected to continue growing this year.  The Seaport attracts more than 10 million visitors a year, and traffic rose considerably in 2022, HHC claimed.

“JLL understands our vision and partnering with them will cement the Seaport’s status as a year-round destination for residents, workers and visitors alike,” said HHC’s New York region co-president Zach Winick.