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Brooklyn lease deal between a flooring company and a landlord has earned the top prize for retail dealmaking in New York City. Katz & Associates' Brian Katz and Daniel D. DePasquale won the Real Estate Board of New York's Retail Most Ingenious Retail Deal of the Year award for Floor & Decor's 129,000-square-foot lease at 850 Third Avenue in Sunset Park.

    The retailer signed the lease for its first NYC location in May, taking over a former Bed Bath & Beyond store. The deal required creative problem-solving due to the building's second-floor space with lower ceilings and the company's unique hard-service flooring concept. "We had to navigate freight elevators, delivery, customer pickups, and other logistical challenges," Katz said.

    The award was chosen by three judges - a landlord, tenant, and attorney - based on ingenuity rather than rent size or location. The winner of the Most Impactful Retail Deal of the Year award went to Cushman & Wakefield's Alan Schmerzler and Sean Moran, along with CBRE's Stephen C. Sjurset and Duane Davis, for Lidl's 23,000-square-foot lease at MAG Partners' 335 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea.

    Peter Marino of Peter Marino Architect won the Retail Development/Project of the Year Award for his redesign of Tiffany & Co.'s Landmark Fifth Avenue flagship store. REBNY chairman Jed Walentas praised the retail sector as a crucial aspect of New York City's development, saying it is "the part that the public engages with long term."