550 Vanderbilt gets first retail tenant: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (two blocks from Ample Hills)

From the Commercial Observer today, Brooklyn-Based Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Scoops Up Three NYC Spaces, "The other new stores are... 1,000 square feet at 550 Vanderbilt Avenue in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn (asking rent was $125 per square foot in the 10-year deal)."

That would be the first retail tenant at 550 Vanderbilt, the only condo building constructed in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, and built by Greenland Forest City Partners.

Note that "540 Vanderbilt" is at
about the center of the tower.
 Van Leeuwen location not clear

It also indicates both tenant and landlord believes there's enough ice cream demand to compete with the original location of rival Ample Hills Ice Cream, barely two blocks away.

(Van Leeuwen is known for pure flavors, while Ample Hills has funkier, more creative concoctions--minimalism vs. maximalism, as the Village Voice suggested. Both are expensive but very good.)

Also, there's a Thai hand-rolled ice cream place, Treat Yourself, between them, though it's less of a direct competitor.

It's unclear, of course, whether the asking rent was the contracted rent. Note that the asking rent for two Van Leeuwen spaces in Manhattan cited by the Commercial Observer were $384/square foot in Nolita and $150/square foot on the Upper East Side.