Forget Disneyfication — Lionsgate Entertainment is the next big Hollywood studio coming to “The Deuce,” the once-seedy, now-glam block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.
In a coup for Steven Pozycki’s SJP Properties, a division of Spain’s leading leisure-park operator, publicly traded Parques Reunidos, has signed a huge retail lease for 45,000 square feet on three floors of SJP’s 11 Times Square.
The space on the southeast corner of 42nd and Eighth will become Lionsgate Entertainment City — an interactive, “experiential” attraction to highlight the studio’s film and television programming for such shows as “Divergent” and “Twilight.” Visitors can relax in a “Mad Men” lounge before stepping into the virtual-reality role of a “Hunger Games” character.
Parques Reunidos develops Lionsgate-themed entertainment centers around the world. The Spanish firm also operates dozens of entertainment venues, including amusement parks, water parks and zoos.
The 11 Times Square lease is with Parques Reunidos’ US unit, California-based Palace Entertainment, which runs US venues such as the Miami Sequarium.
The 42nd Street location will boast 13 different attractions aimed at teens and young adults, the companies said. The build-out is expected to take two years and cost around $30 million. The 15-year lease is estimated by industry sources to start at $7 million a year.
The 1.1 million-square-foot tower’s office floors are nearly full with major firms including the Proskauer Rose law firm, Microsoft and Moore Capital.
But its retail space has been a challenge. The failure of two restaurant tenants, Urbo and Señor Frog’s, left SJP and its 11 Times Square Partners — PGIM and Norges Bank — with nearly 50,000 square feet of retail to fill.
RKF’s Robert K. Futterman, Joshua Strauss and Scott Zinovoy represented both sides in the transaction.