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Is a giant Equinox (and outdoor swimming pool) coming to 18 Sixth Avenue (B4)?

We can't take statements on LinkedIn profiles as definitive, but the profile for Jenny (Wenyi) Jin, a former MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering) project manager for Greenland USA, offers a very interesting clue.

As noted in the screenshot at right, she states that she worked on 18 Sixth Avenue (aka B4), described as "A new, 49 story, 816 units, $700 million luxury rental, which includes a 28,000 s.f. built out for Equinox, additional retail space and outdoor swimming pool," while later in the profile it describes the space for Equinox as even larger, 36,000 square feet.

Does that mean the self-described "luxury fitness club" Equinox is coming to the building?

I wouldn't bet against it--there's surely a business case for a large exercise facility--but do note that, as former executive Jim Stuckey once observed, "Projects change, markets change."

Construction is just beginning for the tower's foundation, so it's at least two years away. No formal announcement has come from either the developer or Equinox. Other potential tenants--see Mekelburg's, at 535 Carlton--have been floated for project buildings, but didn't pan out.

Some changes

For example, Jin's profile describes 18 Sixth as an 816-unit "luxury rental," but she left Greenland in April. By late April, when 18 Sixth was announced as a partnership between Greenland and The Brodsky Organization, the building was said to contain 859 apartments, and include 30% "affordable," below-market units, with the rent levels unspecified.

Also, the profile describes the project retail as including "Gloria Bakery," a bakery and cafe, perhaps at 550 Vanderbilt--as it appears in the list below the 550 Vanderbilt tenants Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and Beer Street Bar--but no such tenant has been announced. (The third tenant at 550 Vanderbilt is Eladia's Kids.)

Then again, there is yet-unrented retail space at both 38 Sixth Avenue and 535 Carlton, controlled by Greenland USA (the majority owner of Greenland Forest City Partners), and also 461 Dean Street, which Forest City New York/Forest City Realty Trust developed on its own and in 2018 sold to Principal Global Investors.

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