
Chelsea Park complex to pump iron in basement
A Chelsea apartment building is bulking up. For the good of its tenants’ health and its own bottom line, Chelsea Park, the new residential complex at 260 W. 26th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, has inked a lease with Blink Fitness for a new outpost in the building’s basement.
The 15,500-square-foot gym will have an entrance on Eighth Avenue, which will lead downstairs to the fitness center. It is scheduled to open by the end of 2014. The asking rent was $55 per square foot.
The space was originally intended to be a garage for the building, said Winick Realty Group’s Alexander Hill, who represented building owner Chelsea W26. Blink Fitness was represented by Peter Levine of Charter Realty and Development.
Blink Fitness is a growing, Equinox-owned chain of affordable gyms. The Chelsea outpost will be its 14th in the city.
Mr. Hill said he expects the gym to be particularly popular with students in the area at the School of Visual Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
“It’s affordable fitness for the area,” Mr. Hill said. “Students are looking for a $20- or $30-a-month option for working out. It should be a great fit.”
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118-35 Queens Blvd. 
Prom season is still a few months away, but party dress seller Social Apparel is bulking up its presence. The six-year-old company recently signed a 13-year lease for retail and office space totaling 10,000 square feet at 255 W. 34th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues. The company plans to use 1,800 square feet on the ground floor plus a mezzanine as retail space. The remaining 8,200 square feet in the five-story building will be used for storage and offices. Asking rent was $60 per square foot, though the deal closed near $50 per square foot.
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