Construction Company I Grace and Luggage Maker Rimowa Renew Leases in Queens

Two longtime tenants of RXR’s Standard Motor Products Building wish to remain within the seven-story Long Island City, Queens, building a while longer, Commercial Observer has learned. 

I Grace, a luxury homebuilder and services provider, renewed its 13,449-square-foot office in the property at 37-18 Northern Boulevard for an additional five years, according to the landlord. The company will continue to occupy the SMP Building’s fifth floor, which it has since 2012. 

Lease negotiations for I Grace were handled in-house, while RXR’s Andrew Ackerman, Walter Rooney and Heidi Steinegger took care of things for RXR. 

Additionally, luxury luggage company Rimowa has also decided to stay put at 37-18 Northern Boulevard, but will shake up its footprint in the process. 

Rimowa has been a tenant at the building since 2019 and will move to the fifth floor, where it will occupy 8,081 square feet. The company previously occupied 4,625 square feet on the building’s lower level. 

Rimowa also handled its lease negotiations in-house, while Ackerman, Rooney and Steinegger represented RXR. 

“We are excited that I Grace and Rimowa have extended their tenancies within the SMP Building and are proud to have such esteemed and respected companies in our tenant roster,” William Elder, executive vice president and managing director of RXR’s New York City division, said in a statement. “Their decision to renew their leases speaks volumes about how SMP continues to attract modern tenants and meets the needs of a variety of industries.”

Neither I Grace, Rimowa nor RXR disclosed the asking rent. Other tenants of the building include champagne company Laurent Perrier and American puppeteer theater promoter The Jim Henson Foundation.

RXR’s portfolio has been somewhat embattled recently as the value of the company’s property at 230 Park Avenue, better known as the Helmsley Building, has dropped by 40 percent over the past three years, CO recently reported. Additionally, in May RXR received a foreclosure notice for its property at 340 Madison Avenue, following a loan default with lender MassMutual.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.