A prominent retail space in SoHo will soon be occupied by a new tenant. South Korean luxury eyewear brand Gentle Monster has signed a lease for 28,500 square feet in Kushner Companies' Puck Building. The lease term is for over 10 years, according to a source familiar with the transaction. Gentle Monster's arrival represents a significant new development for the iconic building.
It is not yet known when exactly Gentle Monster will open its doors at 295 Lafayette Street. The brand will take over part of REI's former 35,000-square-foot flagship store, which ceased operations in July. The remaining portion of the former REI space will be used by the Italian restaurant Torrisi, which will expand its current 4,000 square feet at the base of the Puck Building.
A Strategic Choice for the Puck Building
Nicole Kushner Meyer, President of Kushner, expressed her delight at the new addition: “We are thrilled to welcome Gentle Monster to the Puck Building.” She emphasised that the Puck Building is a special property where tradition, modernism, and culture converge. Kushner has consciously selected brands and companies that share this connection. According to Meyer, Gentle Monster's creativity, global perspective, and approach to “Experiential Retail” are an excellent fit for the building.
This lease also marks an important milestone for Kushner, as it completes the full transition of the Puck Building to a new generation of tenants while preserving the building's character and legacy. Although Gentle Monster's new space may seem unusually large for a niche brand, the office building's Romanesque Revival architecture and the brand's unique store concept could form an ideal synergy. Gentle Monster's flagship stores are known for their gallery-like designs and surrealistic art installations, for instance, featuring hyperrealistic robotic faces.
Brokers and Market Data
The negotiations were led by Lenny Kohlmayer and Evan Kleinberg of Cornelia Street Partners on behalf of Gentle Monster. Ripco Real Estate, represented by Richard Skulnik and Lindsay Zegans, represented Kushner. The exact rent was not disclosed. According to CBRE data, average retail rents along Prince Street in SoHo were $1,409 per square foot in the third quarter of this year.
The 35,000-square-foot vacancy in the 10-story Puck Building was announced last year when REI declared its departure from Manhattan after its 15-year lease expired. The closure followed local media such as Curbed and The New York Times describing the REI store as a cherished urban oasis.
Interestingly, REI's tenancy at the corner of East Houston Street began in 2011, the same year Gentle Monster was founded in Seoul, South Korea. Founder Hankook Kim shaped the futuristic, avant-garde style of the brand's glasses and sunglasses, with prices ranging from $250 to over $500 for special collections. According to AJP, the brand operates 84 stores worldwide in 2026 and is carried by hundreds of retailers.
Gentle Monster's future neighbours in the office floors of the Puck Building exhibit similar prestige. Sam Altman's artificial intelligence giant OpenAI secured a major lease for 90,000 square feet in the building in 2024. The company's arrival followed a 30,034-square-foot lease by the British hedge fund Quadrature, whose portfolio is valued at $11.7 billion.
