Tile Brand Ann Sacks Signs Major Retail Lease in Queens

Rachel Kohler of Kohler Interiors and 21-05 51st Avenue (Loopnet, Getty)

The first legal cannabis shop hasn’t opened in Queens yet, but Long Island City is making headlines in another way.

Ann Sacks, a high-end tile and stone wholesaler, has signed a 21,161-square-foot lease for the entire first floor at 21-01 51st Avenue. This is a former toy factory converted into offices and retail by the Kauffman Organization and True North Management.

Kohler’s subsidiary will open its own tile and stone slab studio and large showroom on the site known as the Cardinal Building. Ann Sacks plans to open the new site this summer after it completes building out of the space.

This is an extension, not a transfer. The company will maintain his two showrooms in Manhattan at his 204 East 58th Street and 31 East 18th Street North Union Square in Midtown.

Cresa’s Tyler Clutts represented the contract’s tenants. His JLL team, which includes James Ferrigno, Leslie Lanne and Daniel Morici, represented landlords Kaufman and True North. His asking rent was $45 per square foot.

Based in Portland, Oregon, in the 1980s, Ann Sachs was founded by its namesake former teacher and was acquired by Kohler in 1989. Our Portland headquarters still manufactures handcrafted tiles, stone, and fine plumbing fixtures.

Retail tenants located here may qualify for tax breaks, rent deductions, and incentives available to those wishing to expand outside of Manhattan.There is also no commercial rent tax.

After signing a 99-year land lease for the 62,701-square-foot Cardinal Building from Joel Berger of Martial Enterprises in 2018, Kaufman and True North will undergo a major renovation of the three-story property, offering views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. We added a roof deck with a view of the

The 20,770 square feet of industrial flex space on the 2nd and 3rd floors will remain available, and tenants using both floors will have the option of adding signage at the edge of the building facing Long Island Freeway.

Kauffman Principal Grant Greenspan said, “We are confident that, together with exclusive and exclusive companies like Ann Sachs, we will be able to attract additional luxury collections to join the building.