Koeppel Rosen LLC, leasing and management agent for the Rosen family portfolio, secured five new office leases totaling 15,474 square feet at 1261 Broadway, an 11-story building in Manhattan’s Midtown South neighborhood. The leases included the following:

• Abell Eskew Landau LLP signed a new 7772-square-foot lease in a relocation from its previous space at 265 Fifth Ave. The law firm was represented by Nick Farmakis and Jordan Weiss of Savills.

• Law firm Hunter Cottingham PLLC signed a lease for 4,599 square feet. Robert Yaffa of RDY Advisors, LLC, and Claire Koeppel of Newmark represented Hunter Cottingham.

• Joseph J. Blake and Associates, Inc., a real estate appraisal and valuation firm, leased 1,467 square feet and was represented by Bradley Cohn of Adams & Company Real Estate.

• Nisso & Co Trading Corp., a wholesale jewelry distributor, leased 955 square feet.

• RSLT Capital Management LLC, an investment management firm, leased 681 square feet, represented by JD Cohen of Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc.

“Tenants across a variety of industries are focused on securing efficient workspace in highly accessible Midtown locations,” said Max Koeppel, director of leasing at Koeppel Rosen, who represented ownership in-house for all five transactions. “Many tenants are finding that at 1261 Broadway, which offers flexibility, strong value relative to the market, and floor plates that work well for tenants in this size range.”

REALM, in partnership with Delshah Capital and A.M. Properties, has acquired CitySpire, a 377,000-square-foot office condominium comprising 24 floors within the 70-story tower at 156 W 56th St. in Midtown Manhattan. Purchased at an 8.5% cap rate, the 98% occupied property features renovated common areas, high-end finishes and a roster of tenants including Caleres, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP and New York Road Runners. 

Built in 1987 and maintained by institutional ownership, the property has undergone approximately $22 million in capital improvements and requires no near-term capital expenditures, REALM said, noting that. Manhattan office leasing activity reached pre-pandemic highs in late 2025. 

“CitySpire represents the type of opportunity we seek in today’s market,” said Travis King, founder and CEO of REALM, an investment collective of 130 family offices. “While capital markets remain cautious on office, we see strong fundamentals in premier Midtown assets, where leasing activity and occupancy continue to outperform. CitySpire reflects our focus on highly selective investments with strong downside protection and long-term upside.”  

A subsidiary of The Cheesecake Factory has been hit with a $2.7M lawsuit over the sudden closure of a large restaurant in the Brickworks redevelopment.

Culinary Dropout closed in the Brickworks development in West Midtown Atlanta in January, less than two years after it opened.

Asana Partners filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court on April 14 against an affiliate of Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts after it shuttered the Culinary Dropout eatery in January. The suit says Asana is owed millions in unpaid rent and build-out costs.

The lawsuit names CDO Holding Co. LLC, which is registered to Fox Restaurant Concepts, as a defendant, claiming it guaranteed the 11-year lease for nearly 12K SF at 1000 Marietta St. FRC founder Sam Fox signed the guarantee for the lease, which was filed as an exhibit in the lawsuit.

Culinary Dropout signed the lease in October 2021, opened in fall 2023 and closed Jan. 15, one of nearly a dozen restaurants to fold in West Midtown in recent months.

Asana, which is being represented by Arnall Golden Gregory attorneys Knox Withers and Kelsey O’Neill, claims FRC owes nearly $2.7M, including nearly $1.9M for unamortized tenant improvement allowances and $463K in leasing commissions. Culinary Dropout owes $50K a month for the lease, which will continue to accrue and includes escalation clauses, the lawsuit says.

“Tenant breached the lease by ceasing its business operations in the premises and by failing to pay certain monetary charges when they became due that are tenant’s obligations under the lease,” the suit says. 

FRC hadn’t filed an answer to the lawsuit as of press time, nor did it or The Cheesecake Factory return messages seeking comment. Asana Managing Partner Terry Brown declined to comment.

In addition to Culinary Dropout, Ford Fry’s Superica, Postino WineCafe, West Egg Cafe, Humble Pie and Snooze A.M. Eatery have all called it quits since the start of 2024 in what has been one of the hottest foodie destinations in Metro Atlanta. 

Expensive parking, high rents and fewer-than-expected office workers have all contributed to the struggles for eateries in the area, Bisnow previously reported.

“Rents are too high, the population is too low, and parking is tough. I think a lot of landlords are signing leases for the sake of signing leases,” Peter Kruskamp, president of retail brokerage The Shumacher Group, previously told Bisnow.

Charlotte-based Asana, in a Jan. 13 letter sent from AGG to Culinary Dropout and filed with the suit, demanded that the restaurant operator send it recent financial statements. It was unclear if FRC complied.

FRC, which also owns restaurant chains Flower Child, Zinburger and The Arrogant Butcher, should be required to pay the difference in rents if Asana leases its space to a new tenant for less than what Culinary Dropout was paying, the suit says.

FRC continues to operate a Culinary Dropout in Dunwoody.

The Cheesecake Factory purchased FRC in 2019 for more than $350M. The chain acts as Cheesecake Factory’s “incubation engine, innovating new food, dining and hospitality experiences to create fresh, exciting concepts,” the company said on its website. In 2024, FRC reported full-year sales of $6.4M per location, or around $1,100 per SF.

Flexible workspace provider Industrious has signed on for its newest location in New York City, Industrious Lex & E 50th St, set to open in early fall of 2025. This location sits at 560 Lexington Ave. in Midtown East and is in partnership with Rudin.

Industrious Lex & E 50th St spans 20,000 square feet and will have 158 seats available. The new location spans the entire second floor of the 22-story, 400,000-square-foot building.

“We continue to see significant demand across our Manhattan locations and we’re excited to strengthen our network with the addition of a new location in Midtown,” said Douglas Feinberg, senior director of real estate at Industrious. “This new location also marks an expansion in our relationship with Rudin, with whom we have an existing location within Tribeca.”

Industrious was represented in the transaction by Cushman & Wakefield’s Justin Halpern, Ed Wartels and Ben Bouganim. Rudin’s Kevin Daly represented building ownership.

A pair of century-old Midtown Manhattan office buildings are trading at a steep discount as lenders look to cut their losses, Bloomberg News reported. Empire Capital Holdings agreed to buy the properties at 229 W. 36th St. and 256 W. 38th St. for less than $50 million, or at least 68% below the roughly $157 million the buildings last sold for in 2017. 

The deal was a short sale for lender Investcorp, according to Bloomberg. Short sales have become more common as office values have plummeted, often below loan amounts. Last year, Empire Capital and a partner purchased a West 44th Street office building in a short sale.

Bloomberg reported that CBRE’s Doug Middleton and Jack Stillwagon are handling the sale. The buyer is considering either keeping the sites as offices or turning them into storage properties for now, a source told Bloomberg. Both properties also sit within a rezoning district.

Greatwater Opportunity Capital is bringing a new $14 million multifamily project to Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. Located at 3740 Second Avenue, the 39,355-square-foot four-story building will feature 33 studios and 24 one-bedroom apartments.

Greatwater leveraged Opportunity Zone funds and financing from Diversified Members Credit Union. McIntosh Poris is the architect, and the Monahan Company is the general contractor. The Detroit-based firm has renovated Detroit buildings over the last decade to restore housing and preserve affordability.

“Midtown is one of the strongest, most walkable communities in Detroit and we’re excited about bringing much-needed additional housing to the neighborhood,” said Greatwater Co-Founder Jed Howbert. “Our work is about much more than renovation and building structures—it’s about doing our part to build neighborhoods that can thrive for generations to come. The project at 3740 2nd Avenue is an important part of that work, and we look forward to opening its doors to residents and business owners.”