The eight-story charcoal-toned building, called Union Crossing, has been slow to lease because of Covid, said Ellen Israel, an agent with JRT Realty Group, which is marketing it. But Ms. Israel envisions companies involved in scenery and lighting as tenants. Asking rents are about $25 per square foot a year.
“Silvercup is a known entity, and if you are doing business with them, you don’t want to be too far away,” she said. “We’re trying to create a vibe.”
In the end, there might be no surer sign of growth potential than the increasing interest from traditional real estate circles.
This fall, Square Mile Capital Management, a New York firm that previously had invested in offices and apartment buildings, and Hackman Capital Partners, a Los Angeles company with office properties, snapped up Silvercup for $369.3 million. And the deal is one of several recently for the team that involves film facilities, including California’s historic Culver Studios.
For its part, Silvercup, whose rooftop sign is visible from Manhattan, has had a string of successes since opening in 1983, including “Sex and the City,” “The Sopranos” and “Succession.”
“I think it’s pretty clear that something is going on with streaming video, perhaps accelerated by the impacts of Covid, but probably because of a change in consumer behavior,” said Craig Solomon, Square Mile’s chief executive.
And additional soundstages may be only part of the calculation. Mr. Solomon would not rule out adding apartments or office buildings at or near Silvercup, which in addition to its main location near the Ed Koch-Queensborough Bridge and its Bronx soundstage, has others in an industrial zone near Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside.
“It’s natural to want to continue to grow and benefit from the placemaking aspects of these properties,” Mr. Solomon said. “At the end of the day, it’s the business we are in.”
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nytimes.com
