Stranger & Stranger, a liquor branding and packaging design company based in London, has taken the penthouse space at 42 Greene Street as its new Soho office,The Commercial Observer has learned.

The company will be moving from its old address at 250 Lafayette Street (according to an online search) for 1,800 square feet in the Zar Property-owned building. The length of the lease is for 5 years.

Asking rent was $65 a square foot. Scott Bennett of Prime Manhattan Realty represented Stranger & Stranger in the deal. David Zar of Zar Properties represented the company in-house.

Mr. Bennett did not respond to voicemails requesting comment. Stranger & Stranger did not immediately respond to an email.

Stranger & Stranger will be moving into a space that was formerly occupied by Kelly van Gogh, a celebrity hair colourist and stylist.

When news of her departure spread, several offers flew in for the penthouse space, said Mr. Zar.

"It was phenomenal how quickly we found someone," he added.

Eventually Stranger & Stranger beat out three other offers for the space.

The company's new office will feature wide open loft space with large, open windows facing Greene Street.

Stranger & Stranger will be joining a decidedly international tenant base at 42 Greene Street, which includes British newspaper and website The Daily Mail and Israeli dancer-slash-baker Ron Ben-Israel.

"I would joke we should put up an EU flag in front of the building," said Mr. Zar.

Daniel Edward Rosen is reachable at Drosen@observer.com

An investment sales team from the real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle is rolling out a building in one of the city’s hottest retail neighborhoods just as the biggest retail industry event of the year is set to commence.

The group, led by Glenn Tolchin, a rising sales executive at the company, is marketing 441 West 14th Street, a three-story, 21,000 square foot property in the heart of the ultra-chic Meatpacking District. Though there is no set asking price in the sale, Mr. Tolchin and the team feel the property can net over $40 million, a hefty sum that equates to an eye-popping $2,000 per square foot.

“It’s immediately next to the 14th street entrance of the High Line and the foot traffic with all the tourists and people visiting makes this a very attractive and unique retail location,” Mr. Tolchin said.

The building, which is currently owned by the prolific retail investor Joe Sitt, is coming available as ICSC, one of the biggest industry conferences in the world that caters to the retail industry, is about to kick off in Las Vegas on May 19th. Mr. Tolchin said that he received the assignment to sell 441 West 14th Street in recent weeks and that the timing was a coincidence. But Mr. Tolchin is planning to attend the event and said that he will be targeting retailers there who would buy the property and occupy it.

“It’s a boutique type property that could accommodate a variety of tenants,” Mr. Tolchin said.

Mr. Tolchin pointed to 441 West 14th Street’s neighbor 874 Washington Street as an example of the kind of user the building could attract. The designer Diane Von Furstenberg uses 874 Washington Street's base floor for a retail store and the upper levels for design offices and showroom space. On the roof, she has a private residence, a dwelling that Mr. Tolchin said could also be constructed on top of 441 West 14th Street.

“The building is zoned so that a caretaker’s home can be constructed on top, which basically means that the tenant can live there,” Mr. Tolchin said. “There are several buildings in that neighborhood where you have retail on the ground floor and design or showroom space on the upper levels, like the Theory store. The property could also be fully converted over to retail on every floor and become a flagship location for a major brand.”

Mr. Tolchin said he planned to discuss the property with several major retailers at the ICSC show.

The building’s premium price is tied to the high rents that the neighborhood commands. Retail space leases for rates in the $400s per square foot in the area, which has a concentration of luxury stores and trendy restaurants. Office space in the Meatpacking District is often in the high $60s or $70s per square foot or higher, premium rates even compared to some of the city’s priciest precincts.

Daniel Geiger is reachable at Dgeiger@observer.com